Guardian
by xXThe Last Dark SoulXx
Summary: What if Hiccup was chosen by the gods to save the world, what if they sent one of their greatest warriors to guide him towards his destiny, what if this new destiny meant he had to leave Berk and come back years later as a completely different person? read on to find out. rated M for violence, slight gore, swearing and suggestive themes.
1. A New Destiny

Hey everyone, this is my first ever... Anything that I've written, so hope you enjoy

WARNING: I do NOT own How To Train Your Dragon, only the OC's i have made.

Chapter One: A Destiny

"Its not like the last few times dad, I mean I really actually hit it, you guys were busy and I had a very clear shot. It went down just of Raven Point, let's get a search party out there -"

"STOP! just stop." Stoick was furious this time, his son Hiccup had caused yet another disaster. In a matter of minutes he had: injured a man, disobeyed orders, sent a giant sconce rolling through the village still aflame, and inadvertently set a bunch of wild dragons free to escape with their livestock in home.

"Every time you step outside disaster falls, can you not see that I have bigger problems, winter is almost here and I have an entire village to feed!" He was fed up with his son's mistakes.

"Well between you and me the village could do with a little less feeding don't you think." Hiccup did always have a sarcastic comeback for every conversation, but this wasn't the appropriate time for those.

"This isn't a joke Hiccup, why can't you follow the simplest orders." He wasn't in the mood for his son's antics, this was a war he was fighting, and here was his risking the lives of him and those around him for some feeble attempt at glory. What was he going to do with him.

"I can't stop myself, I see a dragon and I have to just... kill it, you know its who I am dad." Hiccup had always tried his best to fit in, to be the son his father wanted him to be, but so far his attempts at killing dragons had only caused him ridicule and grief.

"Oh you are many things Hiccup, but a dragon killer is not one of them, now get back to the house." Stoick ended the argument deciding he should probably help start repairing the damage caused by the dragon raid that had passed only minutes ago. "Make sure he gets there, I have his mess to clean up." he said ordering Gobber, one of his oldest friends and village blacksmith, to take his son home. On his way home, Hiccup was shot looks by the other villagers, looks of: disgust, anger, disappointment. The only exception were the other teens his age, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were in hysterics over his latest failure, Fishlegs gave him a looks of pity, they used to be friends until he had started getting picked on because of it, then there was Astrid, she didn't even look at him, she just sat there twirling her axe. Snotlout proceeded to taunt him as he and Gobber walked past and towards him and his fathers house they shared at the top of a hill.

When Hiccup got home he realised that he couldn't just sit here and mope while his one chance to undo all the years of failure rots away in the forest, he quickly gathered all the gear he would need: a dagger, his notebook and a stick of charcoal to write with. He left out the back of the house, which luckily back out onto the forest, and began his search for the night fury, he'd be damned if he was going to give up his prize that easily.

Three hours later

Hiccup had been searching for the night fury he shot down, for hours now and still no sign of it, he had been using his notebook as a map marking off the places he had already searched, he knew this like the back of his hand so it had been easy to draw a rough sketch. He would come out here often if he needed some peace and quiet. While he was walking along, he was looking for other places he might have overlooked, but he was running out of locations he had not searched and he was pretty much out of patience. Frustrated he scribbled out his map and slammed his book shut, he sighed already deeming this hunt a failure.

He sauntered on through the forest, mumbling to himself about how he screwed up another chance to prove himself to his father, "Oh the gods hate me, some people lose their kinfe in the mud, not me I managed to lose an ENTIRE DRAGON!" he decided to take out his anger on the closest object he could find, a tree branch, thin enough even he could break it. He smacked the branch with as much force as he could muster, but he realised his mistake all too late, the branch was going to spring back in his face, he flinched expecting it to smack him right back, but the blow never came.

He opened his eyes to see an enormous black hand holding the branch inches from his face. His gaze followed the hand up it's arm to see a tall, hooded figure leaning against the tree. Hiccup jumped back in shock, wondering how could he have not seen them standing there beforehand, "wh-who are you." He asked the stranger. "I... am your guardian" was his response, Hiccup noticed the unnaturally deep and gravely tone his voice carried, and that he lacked the Norse accent that was common around the lands of the archipelago, whoever he was, he had certainly travelled far to get here.

"My-my what." Hiccup's response was slightly delayed from being caught off guard by this statement. "Your guardian, for you, Hiccup Haddock the Third, have a calling." He said, stepping out of the shadow of the tree to confront him, Hiccup's eyes widened in fear as the stranger's appearance came to light.

He though it was the tree shadow deceiving his eyes but this man's entire body was black, charred like it had been burnt but he could see no deformity or damage to his skin. His entire physique spoke strength and power, there was not a spot on his body that wasn't toned with bulging muscles that put even the mightiest of vikings to shame, this man looked like he could wrestle his father to the ground with no effort at all, Stoick the Vast, chief of the tribe, even he couldn't measure up to whoever this man was. He didn't wear much, he wore trousers that had been burnt off at the knee and were worn, void of color likely from years of use, his hood was similar, very much worn and burnt around the edges. His hood obscured most of his face he could only see just above his mouth, the rest was nought but shadow.

This Man's imposing nature caused Hiccup to unconsciously take a few steps back, his heel got caught on a rock and fell flat on his back. The stranger let out a dark chuckle, obviously amused at Hiccup's sudden stumble. He couldn't blame him though, his appearance was quite frightening to say the least. Hiccup rubbed the back of his head, he looked up to see the strange figure offering a hand to help him up, but this only fueled his terror, from this angle he could see his eyes, they were a blazing inferno with no pupils, as if he hid the fires of hell behind his eyes instead of flesh and blood 'this guy looks more like something that crawled out of the depths of hell than a guardian' Hiccup thought, hesitant to take this Man's offer of help. For all he knew once this man had a hold of him he could drag him away, never to be seen again, but if he declined he could antagonize this man for all he ones, vikings usually had a very low amount of tolerance for disrespect, the strongest ones, like his father, had the least tolerance, this 'guardian' could have even less patience for all he knew. "Don't worry I'm not going to hurt you." He reassured Hiccup who hesitantly took his hand to let him help him up, "what do mean I have a ' calling '?" He asked rather confused at this suddenly revelation, "a great evil will threaten the world in the years to come and only you can stop it."

"ME!? How can I possibly save the world, I can't even lift a hammer." Hiccup was dumbfounded, how could he be the saviour of the world when he was the village hiccup, its in the name, its viking tradition to name runt of the litter hiccup.

"That is why I am here, to train you to become the champion that you are destined to be." Hiccup was dumbfounded, he was chosen by the gods to save the world from destruction? "We will begin your training tomorrow."

With that said, Hiccup turned back and started heading in the general direction of the village.

"Where are you going?" the stranger asked

"Heading home, I'm going to need my strength for tomorrow right?" Which was his disguised way of saying he was going to run home, go to bed and forget this ever happened.

"You were hunting a dragon were you not?"

"I've been out here for hours and i haven't found anything, its probably escaped by now anyway, maybe I could start searching again tomorrow." Hiccup sighed, finally accepting his latest screw up.

"Well you won't have to look far" the man said, looking back beyond the tree were once standing under. Hiccup followed his gaze to a trail of torn up earth, something had crashed here, something big. He ran over to the debris of the crash, hopefully to find the night fury he shot down, he looked back to thank the stranger for his help only to find he was gone. Hiccup looked around searching for him, he was nowhere to be seen, but he didn't have time to worry about that now, he had a night fury to kill, he would cut out it's heart and take it to his father and finally be seen as a true Viking in the eyes of his peers.

He peered over a small ledge to see the night fury was still wrapped up in the bola he used to shoot it down, it didn't seem to be moving so Hiccup assumed it died during the crash "I did it, oh this fixes everything, YES! I have brought down this mighty beast." He place his foot on the dragon's side to emphasize his victory, but his success was short lived as the beast kicked him away, Hiccup quickly scrambled to his feet, the dragon's eyes were now open, staring him down with a predatory gaze. No one had ever seen a night fury before and lived to tell the tale, Hiccup hoped he would be the first, it's black pupils were slit with bright green irises, it's scales were sleek and black as night. The night fury wasn't struggling against the rope that restrained it and it's breathing was deep and heavy, clearly too tired to keep fighting. Hiccup prepared himself to slay the dragon, 'one stab, one quick stab is all I need and I'm officially the first viking to kill a night fury' he though to himself, " I'm gonna kill you dragon, I'm gonna... cut out your heart and take it to my father." Hiccup raised the knife above his head, "I am a viking, i am a VIKING!" He yelled, trying to give himself courage more than frighten the dragon.

As he was about to deliver the killing blow he looked into the dragon's eyes, he expected to see them slitted, filled with anger and hatred, defiant to the bitter bloody end, but what he saw instead was what shocked him the most. It's pupils were now dilated slightly, showing something other than predatory instinct, despair, hopelessness and could it be... fear? No, this was a dragon, their kind had raided their village for generations and had shown no mercy to any viking, why should he show this dragon any mercy, it wouldn't show him any if the roles were reversed, would it? The dragon noticed his hesitation and gave him a look that he thought could be hope... curiosity maybe? He tore his eyes away from the dragon's, it was just trying to deceive him, dragons were cold blooded killers, there was no way a dragon could be so kind, they killed his mother when he was just a baby, but that wasn't this dragon, his father had seen the dragon that had killed her, no one had ever seen a night fury before today. Hiccup raised the dagger again, ready to plunge it into the dragon's heart, but when the dragon slumped it's head down in defeat, submitting to it's fate Hiccup finally gave up, he couldn't bring himself to kill a dragon.

Hiccup slumped against a nearby rock, "I did this" he said to himself. After a few moments of silence he started pondering what to do with the dragon, he couldn't kill it, that had already been established, he couldn't just leave it here to die, but then he thought of what could possibly be his craziest plan yet. Before Hiccup even knew what he was doing, he started cutting the bola rope with his knife, one by one the ropes fell until the dragon was free. It pinned him between it's claws, Hiccup could feel the hot breath from it's flared nostrils, he was almost certain he was going to die, terrified and alone. The night fury reared upwards opening it's mouth wide to reveal two rows of razor sharp teeth, Hiccup closed his eyes so he didn't have to watch the dragon tear him to pieces, but his thoughts were blown away with a deafening screech. When he opened his eyes, the night fury was gone, he looked past the trees up ahead to see the dragon flapping its wings wildly trying to fly, Hiccup struggled to his feet, fighting for breath, he had just been inches from a dragons waiting maw and it just left. He felt light headed, he should probably head home and put as much distance between him and that night fury as possible, but with seconds he lost consciousness and fell straight to the forest floor.

Five hours later

When Hiccup finally came to, he was dazed, confused, he remembered finding the night fury, setting it free, almost dying, then everything went black. "I must've passed out." He took in his surroundings and realised he was not where he was when he passed out, he was in a spacious cove with a waterfall and a lake. "How did I get here."

"I brought you here." The disembodied voice came from behind a tree opposite him, and a familiar figure proceeded to walk out from behind it, the stranger from earlier.

"You again." What did he want this time. "Wait, you brought me here, why?" Hiccup struggled to get to his feet having just woken from unconsciousness.

"Because of him." The stranger pointed towards the other end of the lake where they could just make out the shape of a black dragon trying to climb out of the cove.

"You brought me to a cove with a FREAKING NIGHT FURY IN IT! Are you trying to get us KILLED!" What was this guy thinking, taking him to the doorstep of the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself.

The man let out a dark chuckle. "Don't worry, he doesn't seem too bothered by our presence so I think we're safe."

Hiccup focused his attention on the night fury again, he noticed it was trying to get out of the cove, but why didn't it just fly away, it was a dragon. He walked around half way to the night fury's side of the cove, he climbed onto a rock and sat cross legged, he felt his book in the inside pocket of his fur jacket, he pulled it out and started drawing the infamous dragon. During his sketches he noticed it only had one tailfin where it looked like it should have had two, how can a dragon fly with half a tail?

After his sketches Hiccup simply observed the night fury as it repeatedly flapped its wings, trying to get out of the cove, but to no avail. Hiccup simply lost track of time and after a while he felt he was hungry, there was plenty of fish in the lake.

"Let's see if those hunting lessons taught me any good." He remembered when his dad took him on his first hunting trip into the forest where he was almost trampled by a boar, while he wasn't able to kill a boar he could at least kill a few fish in the nearby river, it was one of the few memories with his father that were memorable for a good reason, back when his father was proud of him for his achievements.

He walked to the edge if the water and crouched down, balancing on the balls of his feet, he pulled out his dagger and held it facing down, waiting for a fish to wonder close. When one did venture close Hiccup thrust his dagger towards his target, unfortunately the fish was a tad quicker than him. "Thor damn it." He readied himself for another go, and again he missed, he was there for another ten minutes and just as his patience was wearing thin, he caught one.

"Yes, finally gotcha!" He raised his dagger, with the fish still on it, to the sky as if it was an offering to the gods. "Now if I could find a way to cook this then that would be- ". Hiccup's word were cut short when he noticed the night fury had ceased its attempts of escaping and was watching him just as he was minutes ago, did it want the fish? If so why did it need his fish, it seemed capable enough. The dragons eyes flicked from him and towards the water, it then assumed a cat like stance, crouching down low, then it pounced on the fish in the water, but caught no fish. The dragon's disappointment was quite evident when it made a sad whining sound, something he never thought he would hear from a dragon.

Hiccup felt bad for the night fury, it must have gone longer than him without food, he decided he could just give his fish to the dragon, after all he could go back to the village if he was hungry or just catch some more fish. He walked slowly over to the night fury as to not startle it, it saw his approach a let out a low warning growl, Hiccup stopped in his tracks.

" Its OK, I just wanted to um... give you a uh... fish." Hiccup was scared being this close to the dragon, it didn't turn out very well last time. The night fury edged closer to him as he presented the fish, it looked just about to take the fish when it back up suddenly, but it didn't seem threatened by him, but more focused on something on his waist, Hiccup looked to see what had unsettled it, he saw his blooded knife tucked under his fur jacket, he took out his knife to get rid of it, but this only seemed to further agitate the dragon, he paused slightly in his movements before dropping it. The night fury gestured for him to move it further away, Hiccup did so by kicking it away and into the shallow water.

With the offending weapon gone, the night fury lowered its back half and it pupils were more rounded than slit, Hiccup tried to offer the fish to it again, and again the dragon approached, when it was close enough it opened its jaw and to Hiccups surprise the dragon had no teeth.

"Toothless I could have sworn you had-" Hiccup was cut off when teeth jutted out of the beast's gums and the fish was snatched out of his hand. "Teeth." The dragon then crept uncomfortably close and Hiccup backed away until a rock blocked his path, the dragon's face was inches from his own, "I don't have any more." He feared the dragon was going to eat him to now, but its eyes lolled in the back of its head and its throat was making strange noises, then without warning it threw up half the fish he had given it.

The night fury sat back on its haunches and watch him expectantly, they sat in silence for a moment before the dragon seemed to gesture to the fish with its head, Hiccup looked at the dragon confused, did it want him to do something with it? The night fury started to do something with its mouth that looked like eating, Hiccup stared at the fish in disbelief then back at the dragon, he would have refused, but he didn't want to upset the beast that stood before him, for his sake. He took one bite out of the fish, it tasted slimy and bitter, hopefully this was all it wanted with him. Unfortunately for him the dragon made a swallowing gesture, Hiccup's expression was one of ' oh come on really ', he could hear the stranger's echoing laughter from across the cove, reluctantly he did as he was asked and swallowed the fish, almost vomiting while trying to keep it down.

Hiccup was practically gagging from the horrid aftertaste, when he finally regained his composure he saw the dragon trying to mimic the sounds he was making, coming out as seemingly meaningless warbles and grunts. Hiccup gave an awkward smile and the dragon seemed to copy him again slowly forming an awkward, gummy smile.

It was then that Hiccup saw what dragons really were, they weren't mindless, savage beasts, they were intelligent and had thoughts and emotions just like vikings did. Hiccup reached out with one open palm to see if it would understand, but the reaction he got wasn't one he was hoping for, the dragon must have taken this as a threat, its smile disappeared and was replaced with a snarl as it retreated, gilding over the lake to another corner of the cove.

Hiccup paced around the cove for what felt like hours, thinking about dragons, what Berk thought about them was wrong, today he saw the truth behind it all, but it only gave him questions, ones that he could not answer: if they really had emotions then why would they raid the village? Could they not find another way to get food, if not why? Was he the only person who knew about this, were there others? All of this thinking was starting to make his head spin, he sat down on the rock he woke up next to. It was then that the stranger approached him.

He was about to say something, but Hiccup cut him off, "why did you bring me here?" This stranger mentioned something earlier, about his destiny.

"The world is in great peril and only you can stop it."

"Yes I know, you said that earlier, but why me, surely you would be better suited for something like this."

"What makes you say that."

"Well first of all you can fight."

"OK I see where you're going with this, look its not about being the perfect fighter, but its about how you see the world." He knelt down to look Hiccup in the eye.

Hiccup gave him a deadpan look. "I still don't understand what you're saying, how will I save the world, how will I become this so called ' champion of the gods '."

"With him." He pointed over to where the night fury was curled up in a ball right next to the waterfall.

"What!?"

"You two were destined for one another."

"So what, you're telling me I'm going to fall in love with dragon?" Hiccup's voice dripping with sarcasm. His joke was met with raucous laughter.

"No that's not what I meant." He took a moment to regain his composure, "you're different from the other vikings, not just physically, but mentally, you've seen what these creatures really are, you are the only person here that truly understands them."

Hiccup was piecing it together, he could end the war between vikings and dragons through peace, he could prevent years of bloodshed for both sides and he would be called a savior among his tribe. "OK, but how do we do this, where do we start?"

"Well first you must learn to fight, I will teach you that. Secondly we need to find a way to help your dragon friend fly, I noticed he is missing a tailfin, and thirdly we must gather allies to aid us in our cause, which means we must leave Berk."

"Leave? For how long?"

"It will be a few years before you are ready, but we will return."

"Years!?" Hiccup wasn't sure about leaving home for that long, he only ever left Berk for short amounts of time and that was with his father to sign peace treaties with other tribes, he didn't know if he was ready for this.

"Don't worry we still have some time before we leave, we still have to find a way to get that dragon to fly before we can leave, taking a boat is far too risky, that should give you enough time to see people you want to see before we leave, but you can't tell anyone that were leaving, understood?"

"Alright, I can cope with that I guess."

"Oh and you're probably going to have to come up with a name for your dragon."

"A name?"

"Well I don't think he'd appreciated it if we just called him dragon or night fury for the rest of forever."

"Right." Hiccup though hard about this, he remembered earlier when he tried to feed him the fish, ' toothless, I could have sworn you had- ...teeth. ' "How about toothless."

"Why toothless?"

"He has retractable teeth."

"Well if that's what you want to call him sure. Now you should probably get going, people will start to wonder where you are."

Hiccup looked to the sky for any indication of how long he had been out here, the sun had just started to rise when he left, now it was already beginning to set. "OK, I'll try and think of a way to get Toothless to fly."

"Be back here tomorrow at midday, I'm going to teach you how to fight."

"Right, I'll see you then uh... What was your name again."

"Khaine."

"OK I'll see you tomorrow Khaine." Hiccup turned around to head home when he realised he didn't know the way home. "Uh which way is the village." All Khaine did was point in the direction he needed to go. "Thanks, uh bye."

Khaine started after the boy after he left, he let out a quiet snort. "That kisky

The Next Day

Yesterday had been a rollercoaster of emotions for Hiccup: discovering the truth behind the dragons, his destiny to save the world, being the first to see a night fury and live, almost dying, needless to say it had been very stressful for him. When he got home, there was a very unnerving conversation with his father waiting for him, his father had decided to put him in dragon training with the other teens, where he would learn to kill dragons, he tried to talk his way out of it but his father made him promise, his father was supposed to leave the following morning to search for the dragon nest.

There was an upside to last night however, he thought of a way to get Toothless in the sky again, he could build him a tailfin, late last night he snuck into the forge to make it. After hours of calculating and forging he finally left the forge in the early hours of the morning.

Now he was carrying his latest creation and basket full of fish for Toothless, he had just arrived at the cove, he could see Toothless sleeping by the lake, but there was no sign of Khaine, "Khaine are you here!" The commotion managed to wake Toothless, he turned his head to face Hiccup with a grumble, he was obviously not pleased with being woken up. "Hey Toothless do you know where Khaine is?" His reply was a high pitched warble and tilted his head, maybe he didn't know who Khaine was. "Well I brought you some fish." Toothless immediately perked up at the mention of fish, Hiccup dropped the basket letting its contents spill out all over the floor, "I brought you some salmon, some nice Icelandic cod, and a whole smoked- ah!"

Suddenly a large circular object appeared out of thin air, it looked almost like a gateway, like a giant ball of fire had torn through reality, and out of this strange object walked Khaine. "Khaine!?"

"Morning Hiccup." He seemed rather casual for what just happened.

Hiccup was lost for words, he had just seen something that he didn't think was even possible, he just pointed to where he had just come from with his mouth agape and eyes wide open.

"Oh, I probably should have mentioned that before, I can travel between the realms whenever and wherever I choose, a gift from the gods for my years of service." Hiccup now noticed he was carrying a weapons rack on his shoulder, as if he was showing off how strong he was.

"What's that for?"

"Training, I said we would start today remember." He set the rack down with a loud clang, it had weapons on it, that Hiccup had never seen before. "I hand picked these for you, these weapons are from all across the world, from the mighty Romans to the fearless samurai."

Hiccup was about to ask more about the exotic weaponry, when he heard a familiar growling sound from behind him. It was Toothless, growling at the pile of fish he brought him. "What's with him?" Hiccup walked over to the pile of fish and noticed his attention was focused on one in particular, the smoked eel, he picked it up and held it out to Toothless, only for him to roar in response.

"NO NO NO NO!" Hiccup tossed the eel into the lake, "yeah not my favorite either." Toothless then proceeded to dig in to his pile of fish.

"Now, training." Khaine was eager to teach him how to fight.

"Hold on a minute, I found a way to help Toothless fly."

"Ah good, some progress."

"I made him a new one." Hiccup stared down at his new invention in his hands, now he just had to pray to Thor that it didn't backfire like the other ones.

"A new one? Is that even possible?"

"Well let's see." Hiccup crept towards Toothless so he didn't scare him, once he tried to put it on Toothless' tail it kept moving away, Hiccup had to hold it down, not that it helped much, he eventually managed to fasten the belt that held the prosthetic to the tail, he sat back admiring his creation. "Great looks good."

"Uh Hiccup!" There was a hint of urgency to his voice, Hiccup turned to face him.

"What?"

Hiccup didn't have time to react, the dragon took off at breakneck speed, he clung on for dear life and before he knew it they were plummeting towards the ground, he pulled out the tail fin and up they went, flying high above the cove. Toothless was ecstatic that he had regained his flight roaring into the sky, they passed over the cove and Toothless could feel the small human weighing down on his tail, he shook him off and Hiccup fell into the lake. Without Hiccup to hold open the tailfin he couldn't keep altitude, Toothless fell shortly after. Khaine all the while stood watching, he was actually impressed at first but after the fall his expression deadpanned.

Hiccup swam to the lakeside, throwing his arms in the air. "YES! I did it! I DID IT. Did anybody see that!?" He was amazed, his invention actually worked, it felt great to see his hard work pay off.

"Yes, you helped a dragon fly for ten seconds and?" This wasn't getting them anywhere, they were just wasting time.

"I know it wasn't much progress but it was still progress, all I need is to find a way to kept the tailfin open." Hiccup was about to start pacing around the cove to think of an idea, but he was stopped by Khaine.

"We can do that later, but now we train." They walked back over to where the weapons rack was. "Now, pick a weapon."

Hiccup scanned the rack, one weapon in particular caught his attention, a sword with a blade longer than any he had seen before, "What's this one?" He carefully lifted it if the rack, it was surprisingly light for how big the sword was, he couldn't swing it without loosing his balance, but he could still hold it. It had a slight curve to the blade, forming an arch from the tip of the blade to the butt of the hilt.

"Its called a katana, used by the ancient samurai, has good reach and a sharper blade than most swords." Hiccup gave it a few test swings, sure it had good reach, but the length of the sword threw of his balance and the curve it had would only make his swings less accurate.

"No, this isn't right." He put the weapon back on the rack, he picked up another weapon, a very odd one at that, it had a handle with chains that linked it to a spiked iron ball. "How is this an effective weapon?"

"Its a flail, you're supposed to swing it around to give it momentum." He swung it in a circle over his head and went for a swing, only for it to come back around and almost take his head with it. He just put it back and decided to never touch it again.

Next was a spear like weapon except it had a blade on the end of it, taking up about a fifth of the weapons length. At the hilt of the blade there were guards to help deflect attacks

"This one seems better." He tried to twirl it in his hands and almost dropped it.

"The sword spear, good choice, pass it here and I'll show you how to use it." After receiving the sword spear from Hiccup, he adopted a fighting stance, "when you swing you must make sure not to put your full weight into the swing so you can counter attack, keep your front facing foot in line with your shoulder so you don't loose balance." He listed things of, all the while performing twirls, spins, slashes, thrusts and dodge rolls. "Think you can handle that."

"Um I er, yeah sure... no problem at all." He laughed nervously to himself, he took the sword spear again and tried to adopt the stance Khaine had moments ago, he went for one swing and almost lost balance, he tried a thrust and fell over, he tried again and after three swings the weapon flung out of his hands. He tried countless more times, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get any control over where he swung or how accurate he was.

"Maybe we can just work on some exercises for now." Looking defeated Hiccup picked up his sword spear and placed it back on the rack, he looked up to the sky, he noticed the sun was just beginning its way to set, an hour or two past midday, then he remembered.

"Oh shoot, I forgot." He face palmed before making his way to the cove entrance.

"Forgot what?" Khaine was getting fed up with this boy's constant delays.

"I'm supposed to start dragon training today, It starts in an hour or so, I've got to be quick or I'll be late."

"What? Dragon training, Hiccup have you forgotten about what your doing out here, what your destiny is?"

"Don't worry, its just the first day so there won't be any dragon killing, I plan to have long left Berk before any of that happens, anyway gotta go bye." Hiccup broke into a sprint, heading straight to the village.

Khaine sat down on a rock with one palm pressed to his forehead, he released a loud sigh, he noticed a familiar black shape out of the corner of his eye, he turned to see Toothless sitting next to him. "What are we gonna do with him when we leave this place aye?" Toothless replied with a low croon. "Ha, me neither."

Authors note: DEAR GOD this took me far longer than I planned, it was supposed to take me a week or so and it dragged on for months, btw I have my GCSE's coming up in a few weeks so don't expect an update for about a month, but I will if I can find time.


	2. A Journey Begins

**Hey everyone, its been awhile but here's the next chapter enjoy! BTW Toothless will be speaking now but Khaine and Hiccup cannot understand him obviously, Toothless speech will be marked as** _*text*_

Chapter Two: A Journey Begins

Hiccup was exhausted, he had been doing exercises for the past half an hour, now he trying push ups, "twenty eight". Toothless was taking a nap in the shade after their most recent flight where his flying suit* had become detached from Toothless' saddle, if not for Hiccup's quick thinking they would have both plummeted to their deaths. "Twenty nine", Khaine was stood in front of Hiccup, overseeing his new workout routine while cheering him on... sort of.

"Come on Hiccup, you can do better than that, push!"

"Thirty!" Hiccup immediately collapsed and rolled onto his side, staring up at Khaine and struggling for breath. "Why... do I... have... to exercise... and not... you? Hiccup was drenched in sweat, he had to take off his shirt, Berk might be cold this time of year... well colder, but it was still possible to break a sweat with enough exercise, something Hiccup rarely did.

"Because _i_ don't need it, _you_ do." Khaine held out a hand to help Hiccup to his feet. "That's enough exercises for today."

"OH THANK THOR!" Hiccup flung his arms up in the air in exasperation.

It had been two weeks after he first met Toothless and Khaine, he came back ever since, to train with Khaine and practice flying with Toothless. In these past few weeks Toothless had help him discover some secrets about dragons that no one else knew, he was the best friend Hiccup had ever had. These tricks that he discovered, not only helped him survive dragon training, but put him at the top of the class in front of Astrid, _Astrid._

Hiccup had gained the attention and respect he had sought after for years in the space of two weeks thanks to Toothless, but despite all of this, he knew he would have to leave it all behind in pursuit of a new life, a life with his best friend who was a dragon and Khaine who would guide him on his quest to save the world. Speaking of which, Khaine was keeping him on an exercise routine, saying that he needed more strength before he was able to wield his sword spear properly.

"Wait, how can you maintain all that muscle without any exercise? I haven't seen you do so much as break a sweat since I met you." Khaine looked like a wall of muscle so strong that if you struck him with a sword it would break in half, how can anyone get half that buff without constant exercise.

"Champion of the gods remember, my strength and general physique are kept at their peak by the powers the gods have bestowed upon me." He answered nonchalantly as he flexed his arms while striking a herculean pose, Khaine loved to show if his inhuman strength, he reminded Hiccup of his cousin Snotlout, except he wasn't a complete arse.

One question crossed Hiccup's mind at that moment. "Come to think of it, I've never asked why you look like... this." He gestured to Khaine's huge and terrifying figure.

"Well that's going to be a long story, sit down and get comfy because we're going to be here a while." He sat down on a small rock while leaning forward.

 _*Oh, a story, i am intrigued.*_

Toothless came over and curled around Hiccup, who sat on the grass cross legged, like a student eager to learn with an interested look on his face, of which his dragon mirrored perfectly. Khaine sighed, still perplexed by how the two were so alike sometimes.

"It all started in a place far to the east, a place where land spans for miles and miles on end, in a kingdom called Farrenheim. I was a renowned warrior in Farrenheim, captain of King Farren's royal guard, I had the nickname 'Whirlwind', a title first given to me by my father since I showed a unique talent in the art of of combat, dual swords especially. At the age of twelve I was the best swordsman in the _whole school_ , by the time I was fifteen I had bested everyone in single combat, even some of the local guards. When I turned eighteen I was one of the most feared and respected fighters in all of Farrenheim, so much so that the king himself requested an audience with me." The joy Khaine took in telling the story was evident on his face with a wide grin, like a grandfather telling their grandson a favorite story.

"And when I arrived I was escorted to the king's throne room by the royal guard, the greatest warriors in all of Farrenheim and personal guard to the king himself, when I entered his throne room I stood dead in the centre of the room, on my own and the king said to me, ' _son if you are as good as the village folk say you are, then I must see this for myself, I Galavan Farrenheim challenge you to a duel in this very hall, the Hall of Kings, do you accept!'_ " Khaine spoke those words with a mocking deep and grumpy voice, like a child trying to sound like an adult. "I could have sworn I shit myself when he said that!" He gave a hearty laugh, clearly very fond of the memory, even Toothless was laughing at this, Hiccup couldn't blame him though, he wouldn't know what to do if his father _Stoick the Vast_ challenged him to a duel.

* * *

 **Farrenheim**

 **The Kings Throne Room**

 **Five hundred years ago**

He was beside himself, King Farren had just challenged him to a one on one fight and rumor had it among the kingdom that he was a legendary duelist. The king stepped down from his throne and walked over to a stone statue that was wearing a suit of silver armor with a golden trim, it held a rapier in one of it's hands, the king drew the rapier and pointed it at him. The rapier had a silver blade, about two feet long and two or three inches thick, the blade drew thinner from the hilt to the point, the guard was a half sphere shape like half an empty ball, it was golden and engraved, with a shiny green trim around it. "First to hold back on a killing blow wins."

The king's guard formed a circle around them, once you were in a duel with the King of Farrenheim there was no backing out, he drew his twin short swords, his weapons of choice, from the twin sheaths on his back, he was not prepared to lose, not today. The two circled each other, sizing up the opponent, waiting to see who would make the first move. Eventually it was Galavan who made the first move, and like that the duel was begun.

Galavan lashed out with an overhead swing much faster than expected, but was parried nonetheless, the swing was followed by a backhand strike and a forehand strike, both once again parried with ease, his assault was met with a flurry of attacks, twin swords slashed in multiple directions, the king ducked and weaved his way around every single one. The king rolled to the side of an overhead swing and struck his opponent with a counter attack, leaving a long gash on his thigh and drawing a streak of blood.

This wasn't going to plan, not that this was planned, the king was too quick for him and if this kept up he was doomed to lose this battle, one he was determined not to. He knew exactly what to do, he had to get the king in a corner, somewhere where he couldn't use open space to his advantage, then he could win, he was quick with that rapier but a blade that thin wouldn't hold under the strength of both of his swords.

He had an idea, he rushed the king, drawing back one of his arms with the sword pointed towards his target, King Farren pulled back his left arm against his right side, ready to strike the incoming blade off course, in doing so the king had played right into his hands. He flipped the sword around in his hand and leapt into the air, landing a punch directly to the side of the kings temple, he followed up with a shoulder bash that sent the king stumbling back into one of the guards forming the circle, he did not budge however, staying his position as if he were a wall.

Before the king could regain his senses, two swords were placed either side of his neck in an 'X' formation, the duel was over, the _king_ had lost, _he_ had won. He drew back his swords, giving them a final twirl and pacing backwards before returning them to the two leather sheaths on his back.

"So you really are as good as they say you are." The king's smile was awfully genuine for someone who had just lost a fight. "Not only are you a gifted fighter as your father told me, but the way you switched from a toward thrust to punch, knowing exactly what I was going to do, in a split second no less, very few are able to perform such an act effectively in combat."

"Thank you my lord." The solemn warrior took a knee, bowing to the ruler of the land he had known his whole life.

"Rise, Alexander of house Terrin, you have proven yourself in single combat against myself, you need not bow to me. Now I propose this, at the beginning of next week you come here and _I_ will oversee your further training for the next few years rather than the training academy, how does that sound." He was astounded, the king was going to mentor him, this was his dream, to be one of the greatest warriors in all of Farrenheim and it was coming true.

The guards that formed the dueling circle broke off and walked back to their positions lining the several pillars in the room. "You go on home boy, tell your parents what I've told you."

"Y-yes of course and thank you my lord." King Farren gave him a quick nod of the head, Alexander offered a bow before turning towards the huge double doors that led outside the throne room. The king paced back to his throne at the back of the room and sat down on it, rubbing the side of his head from the punch the boy landed not one minute ago.

"You really think he's got what it takes to lead the royal guard." The guard closest to the throne piped up, Davison, captain of the royal guard, he held a golden engraved longsword and had the symbol of a dragon head on his helmet.

"In time Davison, he may need some training in the ways of leadership, but I'm sure his skills have proven that he can hold his own on the battlefield."

"Very well my lord, I trust your judgment." With those last words the room descended into silence, as it had been before the boy of the Terrin house walked in.

* * *

 **Berk**

 **Present Day**

"So, your real name is Alexander." Hiccup nor Toothless had spoke since the beginning of the story, entranced by the magnificent tale.

"No, I _used_ to be called Alexander, now I am Khaine. I'm not the man I was back then."

"Why did you change your name?" Hiccup was pressing on the questions now, once he had a question, he would not stop until he found an answer.

 _*Why would one wish to change their name, would you not rather honour the name your progenitors gave you?*_

"That's a story for another time, how are the preparations for your escape coming along." Hiccup had been trying to find the best way to run away from Berk with a somewhat still positive image in the eyes of the village, since he knew he was coming back, if such a thing was possible. He had thought of a thousand ways to escape but none of which he liked.

He could fake his death, make it look like he went down in the midst of battle like a true viking should, but that would raise a lot of suspicion upon his return. He could leave a note saying he left with his night fury and a descendant of the gods, proclaiming that he was destined to save the world because he was the only person that could understand the true nature of dragons, the very beasts that have plagued them for generations. Then again he could leave without saying a word, then he could come up with a story later down the line.

Instead he opted to write a note with a vague description of why he left. "Alright I guess, I'm going to leave my dad a note saying I had to leave for some vague reason and that I'll return whenever." Hiccup really hoped he knew what he was doing, his future was riding on this.

Toothless was staring up at the sky, clearly as eager to leave the island as they all where. "I know bud, we'll leave soon I promise." Hiccup gave him a scratch under the chin which was rewarded with a delighted croon and a slobbery lick all the way from his arm to his face. "Gah Toothless!"

"Maybe you should get going, dragon training starts soon."

"Oh yeah, today's the finals, right." Hiccup was considering handing the victory to Astrid, it seemed pointless to beat her in dragon training, ruin her chance of being the first in her age group to kill a dragon, not that he wanted that of course. "Well I better go, see ya later Toothless, we'll leave tonight I promise." He grabbed his pack and made his way back to the village, strangely enough the cove had felt more like home to him than his actual house in the past two weeks.

"Remember to pack food, a blanket and any other essentials you and Toothless may need. We will make stops at trading ports but those will be far and few between."

"OK got it."

"And I want you writing that note as soon as you get back!"

 _*Farewell for now Hiccup.*_

"Alright! I get it! See ya." Hiccup gave a silent wave and Khaine did the same before exiting the cove.

* * *

 **One Hour Later**

After a long trek back to the village, Hiccup saw people from all directions heading down to where he knew the docks to be, some greeting him as they walked past, an upside of his new found 'talent' is that he actually got a smile out of people instead of the usual scowl or frown.

He walked to a section of houses that overlooked the docks and saw several ships that bore the Berk crest as well as many holes and burn marks, his dad must be back from the nest hunt. Hiccup knew once his dad found out about his success in the ring he would come looking for him, and since gossip spread like wild fire around Berk, he would find out the moment he stepped off the boat. "Well I'm never gonna hear the end of this."

"Damn right you're not!"

Hiccup whirled around in surprise to see a none too pleased Astrid. "Gah! Uh- hi- um hi Astrid, what- uh what are you doing here?"

"You might have everyone else here fooled Haddock, but you haven't fooled me!" She took a step forward, it was clear that she took the loss of being head of the class _deadly_ seriously.

"I- uh what are talking about-?"

"Don't play dumb with me Hiccup! I know you're hiding something, no one just gets as good as you in two weeks, especially you!" She poked him in the chest with the head of her axe. "Someone who's never even been strong enough to lift a hammer being the best in dragon training? Not a chance!"

"Uh I- I don't know Astrid, maybe this just meant to be you know, you don't have to be the best at _everything_."

"BULLSHIT! I will find out what you're hiding and when I do, everyone will know that I will be the one to kill the monstrous nightmare, not _you_! And everyone will realise who _you_ really are, a _Hiccup_ , a mistake!" Astrid's face was one of absolute rage: bright red, teeth barred, breath low and ragged.

Those last words shook Hiccup to the core, had she really just said that, is that all she saw him as, a hiccup, after all these years of worship, of him seeing her as the perfect viking, everything he was expected to be, all the times he did things to make her happy, to try to get her attention, only to be shunned away, all he wanted was to be her friend. She had gone too far, sure Astrid occasionally took part in the beatings and teasing usually lead by Snotlout, but this wasn't right, sure the other teens had ever said such things to him, yet he thought the reason she never had was because he might actually be getting through to her, that he might actually be getting on her good side. Now he had seen her true colours, after years of being in the centre of attention, all he did was take the spotlight for a week or two and this is how she reacts, was her pride and glory all she cared about.

Hiccup's inner grief was quick to turn to bitter resentment, to hell with trying to be good enough for her. He was not about to stand there and take this, it was time he stood up for himself. "Really... really Astrid, after everything that's happened, after all of your teasing and taunting, time spent ostracizing me because you had nothing better to do, and still after all of that, every day for the better part of a decade... I looked up to you, I looked at you and saw what I wanted to be, what I strove to achieve, after everything you and the others put me through I still saw you as the _perfect Viking."_

Hiccup was shouting now, not to be heard but in anger, something he rarely expressed. "And after going through that hell every single day, all the hatred, the tears, the pain, the rejection and the beatings Astrid, THE BEATINGS! DIDN'T YOU JUST STOP AND THINK THAT MAYBE ALL I WANTED WAS TO BE YOU'RE FRIEND!? Think that maybe I actually sort of... liked you? Hiccup's chest was heaving from the amount of shouting he was doing, he held a steely gaze with Astrid, his heart was pounding and his fists were clenched.

Astrid's expression looked like her world had fallen to pieces around her, never had Hiccup ever spoken to her like that, he hardly ever worked up the courage to speak to her at all, and here he was pouring his heart out to her because of so many years of repressed anger from pain that _she_ caused. " H- Hiccup I- I don't-"

"Save it Astrid, after tomorrow you won't have to worry about me ever again." It wasn't until now that the two realised they had drawn a huge crowd of people, come to see what all the racket was about, to find that the runt of the village was venting and taking out his anger on one lone Hofferson who had seemed to set him off.

"See you in the ring, Astrid." Hiccup walked past her, intentionally knocking her on the way, the crowd parted for him, not wanting to set him off again. The crowd now focused their attention solely on Astrid who was in a state of shock and looked like she was about to burst into tears, she quickly reaffirmed herself, still having at least an ounce of pride left. "What are you all looking at." The crowd dispersed at her words, back to whatever they were doing beforehand.

One question suddenly rang in her mind. _Did he really like me?_

* * *

 **Training arena**

Astrid showed up right in time for the big event, the match that would decide who would kill the monstrous nightmare, Hiccup was already present and he completely ignored her as she entered the arena. The entire village was here to see this, the village elder Gothi and Hiccup's father Stoick were also watching. There were several wooden chest high walls, perfect for taking cover, Astrid took a shield from the weapons rack and brandished the axe she brought with her, Hiccup took a shield and a dagger, typical for him. Stoick called over the constant chatter, "release the dragon!"

The Gronckle was let loose from it's confinement, hovering in the air like a bee. Hiccup and Astrid ran opposite ways around the arena, Astrid dived for cover as a fire ball was fired her way then began beating axe against shield to disorient it, she moved in close and swung her axe, but the Gronckle hovered backwards out of her reach. Hiccup took the initiative and climbed onto one of the barricades, leaping onto the dragon's back, in turn the Gronckle spun in circles in an attempt to shake him off. Hiccup held on with all his might and crawled his way to it's head, he tapped the pressure point, disguising it as a shield bash to the cranium.

The dragon fell to the floor, throwing Hiccup off wildly, his shield luckily broke his fall. The crowd erupted into cheers that echoed off the stone walls of the arena, Gobber entered and brought them both to the center of the arena where they would be judged. The audience fell silent as the fatal moment was upon them, Gobber held one hand over Astrid's head, elder Gothi shook her head, then he held a hook over Hiccup's head and she nodded.

Cheers of a deafening volume filled the air, before she could even begin to interrogate Hiccup for daring to deprive her of her dreams, Astrid was shot a death glare by Hiccup, by the time she worked up the courage to confront him he was carried off by the other teens while Hiccup cheered half empty thanks to people swarming him as they paraded him around like a prize. And Astrid was left alone, forgotten like an object of no worth to anyone, _invisible._

* * *

 **The Cove**

"So you won the finals?"

"Yeah, which means my dad is expecting me to kill the nightmare, woo hoo." Hiccup's sarcasm never failed him even in the most dire situations.

"And Astrid really set you off on one didn't she?"

"Hey she deserved it, let's just hope she didn't catch on to that last part I told her." Hiccup never really lost his temper, he had no idea he would let info slip without realising.

"Indeed, you best go plant that note. You did write the note for your father didn't you?"

"Got it right here, shall I give it a read?" He waved it in the air like a flag.

"Let's hear it."

Hiccup cleared his throat before reading the letter his father would have read by the time he was long gone.

 _Dad_

 _By the time you read this I will have already left Berk, over the past few weeks I have become the viking that you always wanted me to be, I have become the best dragon fighter of my age and I know you must be so proud of me, but I'm afraid I have to leave. I'm sorry but there are things I need to know, I have questions that need answers, I know you likely won't listen to me when I say don't come looking for me, but I mean it, don't start sending search parties out looking for me, you have enough to worry about with the dragon raids. Don't worry, I will come back, it may be years before I return but I promise I will come back, I just need some time to think this over and find the answers I'm looking for._

 _Odin watches over me._

 _Hiccup._

 _*Why do you humans bother with such formalities, I find it very boring*_

Khaine clapped his hands while putting on a posh gentleman act. "Bravo ol' chap, bravo!"

Hiccup did the same, standing up, planting his sword spear in the ground and leaning on it. "Oh you honor me good sir." He took an eloquent bow, the both of them laughing away the tension in the air.

Khaine took a moment to regain his composure before speaking. "So when are you going to plant the note?"

"Dear Thor, you make it sound like a conspiracy. I'll wait till sundown, there's a celebration for my victory against Astrid in dragon training, my father will no doubt be there along with most of the village, the perfect time for me to slip into the house, gather everything we need and get back here for us to leave. By the time my father finds the note we'll be long gone."

"It'll be a while before sundown, are you sure you want to wait that long?"

"There are some people I want to see before I leave, there are people I care about and it kind of pains me to just abandon them." Hiccup did feel bad about leaving Berk behind even if it wasn't permanent, especially Gobber, the man was more like a father to him than Stoick was.

"You're not abandoning them Hiccup, think of it as... a hiatus of sorts."

"Yeah you're right, I should really stop feeling bad about this, its what I want and it's what's best for Toothless. I better get going, see ya later Khaine, you too Toothless and when I get back were leaving." Toothless was most pleased about this, wagging his tail with a goofy smile on his face.

 _*Yes! Finally we will leave this stars forsaken island of vikings.*_

This walk down the trail was making Hiccup feel anxious, this was the last time he would walk through this path in the forest, the last time he would see the village on the horizon of grass and shrubbery, the last for a very long time. He eventually got to the village, the first thing he wanted to do was see the other teens, he wondered how they would react when he left.

On his way to the ring, Hiccup was greeted with many wave, handshake and congratulations for his performance earlier today. He stepped into the arena and immediately everyone was all over him about his fight against the Gronckle.

"Hiccup! What you did today was amazing."

"Yeah cousin that was awesome!"

"You were all over that dragon like lighting on Thor's hammer!"

"Hey I was gonna say that!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Wow uh thanks guys, just came by to see how you were getting on." He was still astounded by how much attention the others were giving him since his rise to fame, this put him in a really good mood, he almost forgot that he was leaving them all behind.

"Hiccup we heard things about you and Astrid having an argument before the finals and for what I heard it was pretty serious." And of course Fishlegs had to bring this up.

"Yeah Hiccup, was all that stuff you said true?" Knowing Snotlout he was probably on about the part where he admitted to liking Astrid.

"Listen guys I was just really stressed about the finals and Astrid picked a bad time to interrogate me about it, we both said some things that we shouldn't have, but don't worry, all of that's behind me now, I didn't mean any of what I said. Speaking of Astrid where is she?"

"Dunno, we haven't seen 'er since the finals, you don't think she's upset about losing do you?" Tuffnut wasn't the smart type so it would make sense if he didn't piece the story together that he might have upset her.

Fishlegs was the one to catch on to this first. "What if it's about the argument you two had?"

Snotlout was the first to defend Astrid's honour, even if it wasn't at stake. "Come on Fishlegs, we all know ma' girlfriend's too much of a viking to cry over something so stupid."

"Well I'm gonna go find her and apologise, I do feel bad about what I said. So... see ya guys." It was lie, he didn't at all feel bad about what he said to her, after she _dared_ to call him a mistake and that he deserved to be punished, when it was _her_ that had contributed to the years of torment _he_ suffered.

"See ya Hiccup!" The teens all spoke in unison.

Next on the agenda was stopping by the forge to see Gobber, he was no doubt making some weapons for the village since he and the much older man were the only people on Berk who knew how to make weapons and the such. When Hiccup arrived Gobber was half way through sharpening an axe on the grindstone. "Hey Gobber, how ya holdin' up?"

"Hiccup, there you are lad! Quite ah show ya gave us this mornin'." Gobber set aside the axe he was working on in favor of regarding his apprentice.

"Yeah, I showed that dragon who's boss around here."

"Well that'd be yer father actually but that's not the point." The blacksmith put one meaty arm around Hiccup's shoulders. "Now you know yer goin' up against the nightmare tomorrow and yer father will be there watchin' ya, so remember try yer best, remember what I taught ya, and you'll do us proud."

"Uh thanks Gobber that really means a lot to me." In truth he wanted to strangle the smith for making this last visit even more painful than it had to be.

"All in ah days work, now go see yer father, I won't keep ya." This wasn't going to end well.

"Yeah, uh sure Gobber, see ya around I guess."

"See ya Hiccup." The boy left the blacksmith to his work and went to go look for his father, as much as he didn't want to right now, he knew he would regret it if he left without seeing him one last time.

Hiccup managed to find his father in the village square surrounded by many vikings, no doubt talking to him about his son's latest success. "Well let's get this over with." He walked out into plain sight where everyone immediately dropped what they were doing to talk to him. One voice in particular caught his attention.

"Hiccup, oh son I've heard all about ya doing so well in the ring, but I never believed it until after what I saw this mornin'. I'm so proud of ya son, come here." Stoick enveloped Hiccup in a spine crushing bear hug.

"Good to know dad... but you're... crushing my lungs... just a bit." Hiccup was wheezing due to the pressure on his small body.

"Oh sorry son, but I'm just so happy for ya, after _years_ of the worst viking Berk has ever seen, but here you are, beating the Hofferson's daughter in dragon training HAHA!"

Hiccup's blood was boiling, his father had the audacity to admit that his own son had been the worst viking in all of Berk history and he thought it was OK because he was the next dragon slayer prodigy, or at least that's what the village thought. He balled his hand into a fist behind his back to hide his anger.

"Oh and get this, I have decided we're gonna have a celebration in the Great Hall in honour of your new found success!" Great, now not only was his father proud of him for something he wasn't, now he was throwing a party because of it, this would make disappearing a bit more difficult.

"Gee uh thanks I guess?"

"No problem Hiccup, its the least i could do, oh yes I almost forgot. I've been keeping something for ya, for a... special moment, I figured now would be fitting." Stoick unclipped a round metal helmet from his waist belt and handed it to him, it had one large horn on either side with a row of studs down centre and another around the rim, Hiccup held it by the horns. "Yer mother wanted you to have it." Hiccup took one hand off a horn and traced the studs down the middle of the helmet. "It was fashioned from half of yer mother's old breast plate." Hiccup quickly retracted his hand from the helmet, this situation had become very awkward very quickly. "Matching set, keeps her close ya know." Stoick rapped his knuckles on his helmet. The crowd laughed heartily at the implied breast joke, making the situation even more awkward. Hiccup didn't know whether to be thankful, embarrassed or furious, his father, who he thought hated him, just gave him a gift he had been holding onto for years from his mother who had passed when he was just a baby, yet the gift was something of essential clothing, but his father had just insulted him by bringing up his past fifteen years of failure as if it was all just a thing of the past, he might have gotten over it but Hiccup hadn't, at least not yet.

"Wow uh thanks dad."

"Glad ya like it son." The conversation grew quiet between the two, they hadn't talked this much at once unless Hiccup was being scolded because he did something wrong, they both stood in awkward silence before Stoick broke the atmosphere. "Well I best be on my way.

"Yeah me too I uh..."

"Got a party to plan..."

"I've got training to do..."

"Well... I'll see ya later son."

"Yeah uh see you later too... dad." They walked their separate ways, Stoick towards the great hall and Hiccup towards the forest, what Hiccup was really doing was circling around and back to the house, the last thing he needed was someone walking in when he was packing all of his stuff to leave, it wouldn't be easy to explain. If he circled around from the forest then if someone wanted to talk to him people would go looking there instead of where he actually was.

Hiccup darted in through the back door and rushed up the stairs to his room in the attic. He grabbed his pack and put what he needed inside: a pillow and blanket for sleeping, an extra set of clothes, his notebook and a stick of charcoal, his savings of gold he had hidden under his bed, being the chief's son did have it's privileges. Something crossed his mind as he finished packing, this would be the last time he'd see his own bedroom for quite some time, he looked around, soaking it all in before making his way downstairs. He took some dried meats stored in one of the boxes in the corner of the room, he wrapped them in cloth to keep them somewhat fresh, after that Hiccup found a flask made of sheep skin on one of the overhanging shelves as well as some his dad's gold, he would need it more anyway right? Hiccup went to the backroom of the house where he knew his father kept their own supply of mead, he found the barrel tucked away in one of the corners, the lid was pried off with what strength he had and filled the flask to the brim, he had never had mead before or any alcoholic substance for that matter, but what was stopping him, if he was leaving he was sure as hell going to have a little fun with it.

It wasn't until now that Hiccup gave thought to the helmet his father gave him not an hour ago, he wouldn't need it, he had Toothless and Khaine to look out for him, that and he was training to be the savior of Midgard. He placed it on the table where he and his father usually sat and ate together, and under it he placed the note he had written for his dad to find, hopefully not until tomorrow. With one last heartfelt look around the house and reminiscing over old memories he left out the back door, ready for the journey ahead of him.

By the time Hiccup reached the cove the sun was going down. The moment he set foot in the cove he was tackled by Toothless, lapping his face with his tongue. "Toothless stop, I get it, you're happy we're leaving, but the sooner you get off the sooner we can leave." Toothless let him up and Hiccup wiped the saliva from his face with his sleeve.

"Look who's finally back, ready to go?" Khaine walked over from his spot by the lake.

"Yeah I'm ready, let's go."

"You pack everything? Food, water, blankets?"

"Yes I packed everything now let's get out of here." Hiccup jumped on Toothless' back ready to take off when he noticed Khaine wasn't getting on. "Aren't you getting on?"

"Gods no, as strong as Toothless is I'm sure he can't hold my weight and yours, and your supplies."

"Well how are you going to come with us then? Its too late for me to steal a boat for you." As if to answer his question the familiar flaming vortex appeared behind Khaine. "Oh right, well where are we going to meet?"

"Go wherever you think is safe for you and Toothless, wherever you go I will follow, I'll see you then."

"See you then." Khaine turned to enter the vortex and Hiccup left on Toothless, finally he was free, soaring through the sky he felt more alive than he could ever remember being on Berk, like he could finally breathe. A single tear fell from Hiccup's eye as the duo shouted to the heavens, finally their journey had begun.

* * *

 **The Hofferson's House**

Haldor and Brenda Hofferson were in distress over their daughter. Astrid went straight to her room after the finals and hadn't come out since, that was hours ago, sunset had just passed and a faint hue of red lingered on the horizon.

"Honey I know she can be competitive, but she wouldn't lock herself away in her room." Haldor knew his daughter, she took after him in many cases.

"She's been training for this since she was eight, it was right there in front of her and then that Haddock boy took it all away from her!"

"I know she's wanted to be a dragon slayer and this was her chance, but she'd usually throw something or shout at someone, its just not like her to go all quiet like this, ya know I heard something about Astrid having an argument with that boy. I swear to Odin if that boy has said anything to upset MY GIRL I'M GONNA-"

"Calm down Hal, you're gonna wake the whole village up if you keep shouting. I'm gonna go talk to Astrid right now and get to the bottom of this mess, after all I didn't make her supper for nothing." Brenda picked up a wooden tray with a bowl of broth and piece of bread and walked to Astrid's room. She opened the door slowly, "Astrid, I brought you supper."

"Oh, hi mom." Astrid's face said it all, her eyes were sore and her lip was trembling, she had been crying.

"Dear, have you been crying? Aw come here." Brenda quickly set aside the food to sit by her daughter's side, she embraced her in a wide hug. "Oh Astrid what happened, does it have something to do with that Hiccup lad?" Astrid slowly nodded. "Well why don't you come talk about it with me and your father?"

"OK." Astrid's voice was soft and frail, she was already on the verge of tears. Astrid walked into the front room of the house in Brenda's arms to see Haldor and get this mess sorted out.

"Astrid, are ya crying, come sit down darlin'. Astrid sat at the table with her parents sat either side of her.

"Now tell us whats wrong Astrid, whatever it is we'll try to help OK."

An hour and a lot of tears shed later Astrid had explained the confrontation between her and Hiccup, this led to her having to tell her parents that she had been bullying him along with the others, they were mortified to hear that their daughter had caused physical harm to the heir of the tribe and kept it a secret from them, neither of the parents particularly liked Hiccup and even they believed in the old tradition of naming the runt of the litter Hiccup, but this was something they would not accept.

"Astrid how could ya do something like that, we raised ya better than this!"

"Haldor you're upsetting her."

"Brenda do ya have any idea what this means, if the chief were to find out _we_ will be the ones to blame!"

"He won't find out, if he hasn't already then he won't now." Haldor ceased his pacing at sat back down.

"I am s-so so sorry." Astrid was still crying with her head in her hands.

Haldor signed in defeat, this was his daughter, he couldn't stay mad at her. "Its OK Astrid I forgive you, but I am very disappointed in you and this _will_ not happen again, understand?"

"Yes father."

"Good, now go to bed, after Hiccup kills the nightmare tomorrow I want you to apologize for what ya did."

"OK." Haldor and Brenda walked Astrid to her room and she was left alone to eat her supper and sleep. Astrid had everything set in her head, tomorrow she would apologize to Hiccup for all her past wrong doings, even if she had to beg for his forgiveness, whatever it took. Tomorrow she would set everything straight.

* * *

 **The Great Hall**

It was almost midday when the chief woke from his alcohol induced slumber.

"Oh my head, wha-what happened last night?"

Stoick then realised the awkward position he had fallen asleep in, he was sat backwards on a chair and a red mark had appeared on his face from how he had rested it on one of the corners. He stood up only to fall back into a table.

"Argh, what in Thor's- wait WHAT!? Where is Thor's blazes are my clothes!?" Stoick had nothing but his pants to hide his modesty.

"Here ya go chief." Said chief turned around to have his kilt thrown in his face.

"Gobber? How long have you been up?"

"About... an hour? Maybe? Some party we had last night 'ey?" It certainly must have been if he had been unconscious, sitting backwards in a chair. He would have loved to have remembered it, but due to his drunken state at the time and his headache caused by the hangover he couldn't remember much, only a few snippets of what happened were willing to shed some light on the topic.

"Aye it certainly was Gobber, what were we celebrating again?"

"Hiccup's success in the ring remember? He's gonna be killing the nightmare today." Stoick's heart swelled with pride at the mention of his son's name.

"Finally, my boys living up to the family name, he's finally one of us, who would have thought it 'ey, Hiccup placing first in dragon training, who knew he had such hidden talent?"

"I know chief, the lads surprised us all, ya think he can do it?"

"Of course he can, he's a Haddock, son of a chief, he's destined of greatness I tell ya! HA- oh my head." Stoick's hangover was starting to catch up to him and his naturally loud voice caused his head to pound at the sound of his own voice.

"Maybe ye should go home for awhile, rest up a bit, the fights not till after noon." His friend was right, Stoick couldn't do chief duty in this condition.

"Alright I'll go get some rest, but I'll be at the kill ring at noon, I want to talk to my son before he goes in."

"Sure chief, see ya later." Stoick departed for his home, eager to get at least an hours sleep before the ascendance of his son from boy to man was to take place. As he walked through the door, Stoick could feel the atmosphere in the room, as if something suspect had taken place here not moments ago, something wasn't right. "Hiccup!" Stoick's call went unanswered, his son was probably out in the woods training, he'd spent a lot of time there recently, he must be taking his training seriously. The first thing that caught his attention was the helmet he had given his son just lying there on the table. "Why would Hiccup leave this here? This was from his mother Thor damn it. I'll be having a few words with that boy when-" As Stoick picked up his son's helmet he noticed a piece of parchment hidden underneath.

"A letter? From Hiccup?" Stoick's interests in the helmet were immediately discarded in favor of the letter. As he read, Stoick's frown began to loosen and his fingers tremble, his shoulders slackened and a lump formed in the back of his throat. The letter was dropped as Stoick's world collapsed around him, his son, his last living connection to his long lost wife was gone, fled of his own accord. Things I need to know? Don't come looking for me? It may be years before I return? What did all of these things mean, did Hiccup think he was hiding something from him, had the years of ostracization and humiliation finally taken its toll, one thing was for sure, Hiccup was gone and there would be no telling when or even if he would be back. So many questions rolled around in the chief's head, but only one word managed to reach his lips as a single tear fell from his eye. "Son?"

* * *

 **The Middle of Nowhere**

After a long flight throughout most of the night, Hiccup and Toothless agreed to set down on an isolated island in the early hours of the morning. They landed in a clearing surrounded by trees, with the shore nearby he had a place to wash, although it wasn't very private, Hiccup just had to keep a lookout for any sailors passing by. The clearing had shade and space, it was all he needed, at least for a few weeks. Right now it was noon, the killing of the nightmare was bound to take place soon, when people found out he wasn't there who would take his place? Astrid was the most likely bet, although she didn't know what he knew about the dragons, she was the most capable warrior among the likely contestants, maybe the event would be canceled altogether and the nightmare would be spared, but knowing vikings that would be unlikely. Khaine had arrived moments after they had landed, now he and Hiccup were engaged in conversation about the relations between Heaven and Hell with Toothless listening in, while sat around a campfire.

"So you're saying that Valhalla and Helheim are _not_ opposed but are in fact working together to keep Midgard in balance?" Hiccup was perplexed by the fact that what he had been brought up to believe was false and the truth was being told to him by an agent of the gods themselves.

"Yes, Heaven allows peace and prosperity to flourish, rewarding those mortals who follow their teachings with an eternity of life in Heaven, whereas Hell punishes those who defy the gods and wage war against innocents by damning them to an eternal purgatory."

"Well OK, so what do I have to do with all this, why am I saving the world and not the gods?"

 _*Yes. What do we have to contribute to the business of these gods that you humans are so fond of.*_

"Because there will come a time when the gods will be no more and man will have to survive on its own."

"So its Ragnarok, end of the world kind of thing?"

"Indeed."

"And you are technically from Hell, the underworld where daemons live?"

"Yes."

"What do daemons look like anyway, are they terrifying, intelligent, can they think for themselves?"

"Well starting with your first question, a daemon's appearance is based on their role and personality. There are the Draugrs, souls of sinners and the damned, bound to an eternity of servitude by the gods as punishment for their actions, there isn't really any other use for them other than entertainment." Hiccup was shocked to hear that the suffering of the souls of the dead was what passed as entertainment in the underworld, even if they had offended the gods.

 _*Another world comprised of beings whose physical appearance is based off their own thoughts and personality, interesting, tell me more of these so called 'daemons'*_

"Isn't that a bit cruel, they are already being punished."

"It is Hell, its more or less intended for that. Anyway getting back on track, there's also what we call Brutes, they use size and strength to their advantage, very few can stand up to such a monstrosity in the moral realm, although they aren't very smart so they can be easily lured into a trap."

"So a daemon has thoughts and emotions just like people do right?" Hiccup considered himself smart among is tribe, but he was struggling to wrap this information around his head.

"Thoughts yes, emotions no so much. I think the closest to human a daemon can be is a Revenant."

"A Revenant? What's that?" The mention of such an ominous name intrigued Hiccup.

"A Revenant is the soul of someone from the mortal world who is slain and has been wronged greatly and has been deemed worthy of being resurrected and allowed vengeance upon those who are responsible for that persons suffering. These individuals are hybrids of human and daemon, they are some of the most powerful beings of both the mortal world, Heaven and Hell, even one so powerful enough could destroy an entire army alone."

"Woah, so they're invincible."

"No, not invincible, they are stronger and more resilient, beyond the limits of any mortal and posses a fury unlike that caused by the fires of battle or a frenzied blood lust, wreaking havoc and terror among even the most disciplined of soldiers."

"Wow, capable of destroying entire armies, I pray to Odin I never meet one."

 _*I concur.*_

"Who says you haven't already?" Khaine's face lit up with a smirk and a cocked eyebrow, his yellow eyes shining in the flickering light.

"You? You're a Revenant? Which also means you're dead right?" It was painfully obvious: the yellow eyes that bore into your soul, the complexion of a being from your nightmares, the immense muscular physique, it made perfect sense, how could he have not guessed as soon as the topic was brought up?

"Yes, technically I am."

 _*By the stars, it is truly an honour to behold one who has returned from death's hold."_

"Wow, so I'm an apprentice to a dead person, I'm not sure how to feel about this."

"You should be grateful, you will be trained by not only such a powerful warrior, but one of the greatest to ever exist."

"Well I guess I'm grateful then."

"Good, because I think its time you learned how to use _this_." Khaine held up Hiccup's sword spear to attention, pointing vertically towards the sky.

"Woah really? I'm actually going to use this thing?"

"Sure thing, but you also need to grow a little more meat on your bones." Khaine lightly jabbed Hiccup in the ribs with the butt of the spear. "Don't worry, I have just the thing for that, and since you're not going to the village to cover any more, that leaves plenty of time to double your workout schedule."

"Oh come on really, I get tired enough doing two hours let alone four."

"This will give you the proper strength you need to use the sword spear effectively, you do want to use it don't you." Khaine teased him with the prospect of actually being able to fight, something Hiccup had longed for. Toothless' warbled laughter caught both humans attention.

 _*Hahaha, good luck with those exercises, you will be working off your rear end and I'll be relaxing in the shade, haha, have fun.*_

"I don't know what you're laughing at Toothless, you've got some muscle building to be doing yourself don't you think?" Toothless' reaction was priceless, his eyes wide with disbelief and his ears drooped to the corners of his jawline.

 _*Hey, what are you trying to say!? I'm strong enough already, I don't need any of this 'workout' business.*_

"The both of you must be in peak physical condition if you are to save this world, and that means exercise."

"Ha look who's laughing now, not you."

 _*Shut up.*_

Toothless slapped Hiccup around the head with his tail.

"Oh that's it you-"

"Enough! The both of you, your training stars tomorrow whether you like it or not. Get some sleep you'll need it." Boy and dragon both reluctantly laid down on the ground, Toothless with his wing draped over his head and Hiccup laid up against him. Hiccup pulled out a small flask from his pack, as he drank its contents he choked almost immediately.

"Woah Hiccup, you alright there?" His coughing fit subsided after a few seconds, allowing him to answer.

 _*Hiccup are you okay?*_

"Yeah I'm _*cough_ * I'm alright, just *cough* a bit strong ya know." Hiccup struggled to speak, beating his fist on his chest.

One word in that sentence peaked the man's interest. "Strong? You snuck some booze along from Berk didn't you?"

 _*What is this 'booze' you speak of, is it poisonous?*_

"Please don't lecture me, just thought it would be a good way to-"

"HAHAHAHA OH OHAHAHA, oh Hiccup you- your so funny sometimes, HAHA, I didn't think you had it in you to actually drink!" Khaine was caught in a bout of hysterics, tumbling to the floor with his hands over his stomach.

 _*I take it from his hilarity of the situation that it is in fact not poisonous.*_ Toothless resumed his slumber as if nothing had happened to disturb it.

"Wait, so you're not mad?"

"Haha, what, why would I be mad, if you want a drink then that's your choice, just don't go overboard, I am not dealing with a hangover tomorrow."

"Alright, I only brought the one flask anyway." As Hiccup drank the rest of the mead he wandered off into the land of imagination, thinking of what the future would hold for them, where would they go, what dangers would they face, how many times would he suffer a heart attack from Khaine's workout routine? One thing was for sure, the three of them were going to start a new life together, one that would start tomorrow.

Tomorrow was a new day.

* * *

 **Hey everyone thanks for reading this chapter, exams will be over soon so I will be able to update more often. Since it takes me a while to update ad it is I think I'll leave you with a teaser for what will happen in the next chapter, it will be one year after Hiccup has left Berk and there will be some action finally, hope you're excited.**

 **BTW if anyone is willing to do cover art for this story that would be awesome, just pm me and we will get it sorted, anyways see ya next time.**


	3. A Disturbed Past

**Now this is a story all about how my upload schedule got flipped turned upside down, I'd like to take a minute to just sit right there I'll tell you why I disappeared for 3 GODDAMN MONTHS. Sorry guys life got in the way, but its a big chapter so yay!**

 **Hey guys thanks for all the support, so far this story has had 5 reviews, 17 favorites and 26 follows, I am so proud of the progress my story has made and YOU the readers made it possible. BTW there will be gore(or slight gore) in this chapter, in fact there will be for almost all of the fight scenes in the rest of the story.**

 **YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

Chapter Three: A Disturbed Past

It was early morning, the sun was just beginning its ascent over the horizon and the sky was a vibrant mix of blue, purple and orange. Hiccup and Toothless were still asleep, gods knew they needed it, the past few months had been tough to say the least. Khaine had them doing exercises, stretches and combat training every day since they left Berk, the first day he tried to get Toothless to train, the dragon simply sat in the shade and refused to do anything he said, Khaine ended up actually dragging Toothless out of the shade and passing the comment, 'Toothless would it really kill you to loose a few pounds?' Those words were enough to put him in his place, he knew it would not be wise to try and push his luck with Khaine.

Now Khaine would have to wake them up, he knew it had been tough on them with all the training, they would need it if they were to fulfill their destiny. Right now he had to talk to them, some strange things had begun to stir up in the nether world and he had been summoned to handle the situation, he would have to leave for awhile. The last time he left Hiccup alone he nearly died, about a month ago they found a pack of boars roaming the area, Hiccup was confident he could take them but Khaine said otherwise. Hiccup ended up sneaking off on his own, he was lucky he and Toothless found him when they did or he would have been skewered on the end of a boar tusk.

"Hiccup." No response. "Hiiiiiccuuuup." Still nothing, Toothless had woken up but Hiccup was still asleep.

 _*Khaine? why are we up so early, its barely sunrise, I want to go back to sleep*_

Khaine was tapping the side of Hiccup's head which seemed to work.

"Uh wha- I- I'm up! I'm up! Oh hey Khaine, why are we awake so early?" Hiccup yawned halfway though his sentence.

"Listen, I have to leave for awhile, something is going on in Helheim that demands my full attention."

"Leave? For how long?"

"I don't know, a couple of days maybe, I'm not sure, just promise me you won't go looking for trouble."

"Fine I won't go looking for trouble."

" Good, Toothless you're in charge while I'm gone OK."

"Oh come on, why does he get to be in charge?"

"Because I said so, and because the last time you tried to handle a situation, you almost died and we had to bail you out."

"But that was just one time, please I promise nothing will go wrong." Hiccup was on his knees begging at this point, but it wasn't enough to persuade Khaine.

"Toothless is in charge, that's final. I will be back as soon as I can. Khaine disappeared into the familiar gapping hole between the realms which disappeared just as quickly after him.

 _*Looks like I'm in charge while Khaine is away.*_

"Shut up Toothless." Hiccup mumbled under his breath, he had a feeling these next few days were going to be very long.

* * *

 **Helheim**

As soon as Khaine stepped into the reality of the nether realm, he was greeted by a familiar face.

"Khaine, about time you showed up, what took you?" It was, Laurenza, another revenant although far less experienced than Khaine, she was an expert in ambush and assassination tactics using her small size, agility and speed to her every advantage. Her face was mostly human apart from the spines running from her crown to the ridge of her nose, her eyes were a seething red and hair was replaced by fire. Her armor was dull and worn but still capable with horns jutting out at almost every angle, her weapons were two long, serrated blades protruding from her wrists each at least two feet long and seemingly made of bone.

"I've been given the task of training the next champion of the mortal realm."

"Well good for you, while you were gone the rebels have declared war and are marching here as we speak. A battle plan has already been decided, you will be assisting in a frontal assault on the enemy force and I will lead a battalion of warriors from the side."

"And on whose orders have these plans been laid." Khaine was usually the one who organised attacks, who would be leading in his place?

"One of the horsemen will be aiding us in this fight, War."

"What's one of the horsemen doing outside of the Infernal Gates?"

"I don't know, this rebellion must be seen as a very dangerous threat if one of the Heralds of the Apocalypse is getting involved."

"So you were all just waiting for me? Couldn't War just have lead the siege and had it over with by now?"

"Apparently you are vital to this battle, why I don't know but War seems to think so."

"Well, shall we get this show on the road?"

"I though you'd never ask."

* * *

 **Midgard**

It had been a day since Khaine left for his special mission, yesterday had been a bore fest, Hiccup wanted to go and do something fun but Toothless kept to Khaine's wishes and insisted they stay here. Hiccup even tried to make the excuse that they needed to go hunting for food but they had already stockpiled enough to last them several days.

Now Hiccup was pacing around a tree, Toothless was dozing in the shade, but the boredom was grating on him as well. Hiccup now started to bang his head repeatedly against the tree.

 _*Hiccup what are you doing?*_

"Toothless aren't you bored of just sitting here doing nothing all day? Khaine's out on some awesome adventure and we're waiting here for him to come back." Hiccup was through with waiting, he could take the boredom anymore, he had to do something.

 _*You do have a valid point*_

"Why don't we go do something Toothless, we can go fishing, do some stunts in the air and Khaine won't even know."

 _*Sounds better than sitting around doing nothing.*_

Toothless bent down so his rider could mount the saddle and the two of them bolted into the sky. "YEAH!" They were both ecstatic to finally be off the ground and in the clouds, where they could be as one. "You know Toothless I've missed this, just you, me and the endless sky, no training for the end of days or destinies written in the stars, just us."

 _*Me too Hiccup, me too*_

There was a moment of peaceful silence between the two, the serene happiness washed over them as if the world had stopped just so these two could savor the moment.

"Now how about some of those stunts, huh?"

 _*Oh yeah*_

* * *

 **Berk**

It had been a whole year since Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third had abandoned his tribe for reasons no one could determine. He had left his home more changed than he though, Astrid Hofferson, now the next dragon slaying protégé, was pushing herself more than ever to be the best.

After news spread of Hiccup leaving Berk, Astrid was devastated, when she went to the ring to apologize to Hiccup for her past wrong doings only to find out that Hiccup had left Berk, she ran back home and up to her room, bawling because of the guilt trip that could now not be lifted, only when the chief had come by to say that because of Hiccup's disappearing act that she would have to take his place in the ring was she willing to step out into public again. Despite a few minor injuries she killed the nightmare and took it's head as a trophy that now hung as ornament above her bed. Now she trained day and night, from dawn till dusk and sometimes longer, after her victory against the dragon she was allowed to fight in raids, reaping tallies of dragons that rivalled even those of Berks counsel, in the past year she had kill quite a handful of nadders, zippelbacks and gronckels, she even managed to kill another nightmare, and another last night.

Hiccup's abandonment of Berk had left Astrid with scars that she wasn't sure would ever heal, the guilt of causing him suffering, emotional and physical, for years, rejecting him at every turn when he didn't have a soul to turn to in times of need, and when he finally found the strength to carve a piece of the world out for himself she had the nerve to call him a liar and a cheat, in many ways Astrid found herself to blame for him leaving, for leaving Berk without a heir, for leaving herself without those three words she wanted to hear but now never would, ' I forgive you '.

"Gyrrragh!" It was less than an hour before sunset, Astrid was practising throwing her axe at a tree, a tree that had been the focus of her anger for the majority of the day, countless marks adorned it from other impacts of the axe. Astrid yanked the axe from the tree and was about to take another shot when-

"Astrid! Suppers ready!"

"Coming Ma!" Astrid hated having to stop training, even if she needed to, it was the only thing that would take her mind off of Hiccup, even in her sleep she would have nightmares about what terrible fate may have befallen him.

On her way to the door she was intercepted by an all too familiar Jorgenson.

"Hey babe."

"Urgh, Snotlout."

"The one and only." Snotlout had only become cockier and more self centered than ever over the past year, he only mourned the death of his cousin for a day or so. Word had it that Snotlout was going to be the new heir to Berk, the thought of Snotlout running the village made Astrid sick, he would likely abuse his power as chief and force her to marry him, that would be her greatest fear if she had one, Hoffersons were known for their fearlessness.

"What do you want Snotlout?" His very presence grated on Astrid's nerves, she wanted to have this conversation over and done with as soon as possible.

"Oh ya know, just wanted to see how my girlfriend is doing."

"I am not your girlfriend, just leave me to get on with my training!"

"Training huh? I've been doing some training too, ya know working out." Snotlout flexed his biceps in a vain attempt to seduce her. Astrid was fed up with him already, she was leaving.

"Urgh whatever, I'm leaving." As she walked away Snotlout still rambled on as he followed her to the door of her house.

"Come on babe you can't resist this forever, in a couple of years I'll be chief, you and I can be royalty." As they reached the front door to Astrid's house, Astrid hurried inside and slammed the door in Snotlout's face. "You'll be mine, one day." Snotlout spoke to himself in a hushed tone before walking off to find something else to do.

Haldor and Brenda Hofferson were greeted by Astrid storming into the room and slamming her fist on the table before sitting down.

"That Snotlout kid been harassing you again Astrid?" Haldor piped up as he washed the dishes from last nights supper, Brenda was serving up today's supper.

"What gave it away?" Astrid's sarcasm spoke volumes for her current state of anger and disgust that she had to put up with every day, she was becoming more sarcastic as of late but she couldn't fathom why.

"Well don't you worry, I'll be having a word with his father Spitelout tonight."

"Good." Astrid knew that even if Spitelout listened to him that Snotlout would still chase her to the ends of Midgard.

As supper was served Astrid couldn't help but think about how the chief had been over the past year, while she had suffered emotionally as well, he was burdened with the worst of it, Stoick didn't leave his house for almost two weeks and Spitelout was force to take over as chief for that time. He eventually returned to his normal self, or what was left of him anyway, now he was quicker to temper and always gave punishments to solve problems rather than settle for compromise. Stoick was furious with his son, he didn't think of Hiccup as a son anymore and he made it clear, he practically disowned him, Stoick had become a bitter and temperamental man over time.

She couldn't imagine where he Hiccup would run off to, she had a pretty good idea why, just not where. He might have gone to live in the wilderness, but Hiccup wasn't prepared for the harsh life of the wild as far as she knew, that and Hiccup wasn't the type to make stupid decisions, if he had gone into the wilderness then he was bound to have run into at least one dragon by now. Astrid hoped he was safe out there, she silently prayed for his safety, his forgiveness and that one day he would return.

"May the gods of Asgard watch over you Hiccup." Astrid whispered to herself.

"What was that dear?"

"Nothing ma." Little did Astrid know that her prayers would be answered.

* * *

 **Back in the middle of nowhere**

Hiccup and Toothless had been having fun all day and were on their way back to the campsite.

"Wow today sure was fun 'ey bud."

 _*I'll admit today was fun indeed.*_

"Bet you wish you listened to me yesterday don't you?"

 _* I didn't want to run the risk of making Khaine angry, who knows what he is capable of in a fit of rage.*_

"Well let's get back to camp before dark so we can lay back and just- wait, Toothless was that ship docked there when we flew over here an hour ago?" Hiccup saw ship anchored at the beach they were passing over and there were a lot of people on the deck.

 _*I don't remember that human construction on the beach if that's what you mean.*_

"Let's get a closer look bud." They dove down to survey the scene, as they got closer many things were made apparent. The all of the people on the boat were men and were all armed to the teeth, numerous cages of varying sizes littered the deck, one thing stood out among the rest, the insignia on the ships sail was a dragon with two swords crossed diagonally over it, these were dragon hunters.

The sun was just setting, the rays if orange slowly disappeared over the horizon. Dusk had helped them not get spotted, they were at least fifty feet above the ground and definitely over one hundred feet away from the ship, someone would have to have a _very_ good eye to spot them.

"OK bud I think it's about time we left." As the words left his mouth a bola wrapped itself around Toothless' left wing, they were falling before they knew what had happened, they hit the ground hard, Hiccup was flung from the saddle, as he got up he saw they were being charged by the dragon hunters, damn they were hidden by the trees. Hiccup was glad he brought his sword spear along or he would be completely defenseless right now.

Toothless fired a plasma blast at the closest man, his shield was destroyed and he was sent sprawling to the floor clutching his arm in pain, now two more bolas wrapped around Toothless, one around his legs and the other around his head, it was up to Hiccup to save them both.

Two men came running at Hiccup, one with an axe and another with a sword and shield, Hiccup ducked the axe swing and tripped the man with his leg, he deflected a thrust from the sword and forced the pommel of his weapon into the face of his opponent and following up with a whack from the butt of the pommel into the side of the mans head knocking him out cold. The axe wielder came at him again with his axe held high, a split second before it cleaved him in two Hiccup dodged to the mans right and stabbed him in the thigh, withdrew, then kneed him in the face, sending him to the floor, two down.

One man charged him armed with two cleavers, the man leapt at him his cleavers behind his head, Hiccup saw this coming and knew he didn't have the strength to block it, he back stepped out of the way and spun the spear in his left hand before resuming his two-handed grip on the weapon and swung for the mans head. The guard at the hilt of the sword blade was supposed to collide with the mans head and knock him out, but Hiccup swung an instance too soon and instead he beheaded him, the blood gushed from the mans stump of a neck and his body went limp as it crashed to the sandy ground.

Hiccup was horrified at what he had done, he knew he should have been killing these men, it was him or them, but he didn't think he had it in him to take a life, he fell back on his rear and stared at the severed head, the way its eyes were still and lifeless, how its face was contorted into a silent scream. Hiccup came back to his senses when he caught motion in the corner of his eye, he turned his head to look and was met with a boot heel to the face, pain wracked his his skull and his vision swam as his world faded to black.

When Hiccup came to he found himself tied to the mast of the ship, his sword spear lay on a rack a couple on feet on front of him, Toothless was bound in chains to his right.

"Toothless!" He tried to wriggle his way out of the rope bonds but it wasn't working.

"Well look who's finally up and about." A man stepped into view from his left, this dragon hunter wasn't like the rest on the ship, instead of worn and tattered old gear his chestplate with the same symbol on the ships sail was a reflective silver and he gripped an embellished longsword in his right hand, his helmet had two recurved horns on either side with one slightly chipped and broken. He had a black bushy beard and blue eyes, he wore a cape made of the scales of a monstrous nightmare and his free hand had a gauntlet fashioned from the skull of a terrible terror.

"Who are you? Why did you shoot us down?" Hiccup tried to hide it but it was clear for all to see, he was scared.

"Well kid, I am Odysseus Kaldavram, captain of this vessel and a renowned dragon hunter across the Archipelago. As for why we shot you down well... you were riding a dragon, do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Listen, if you let us go you'll never see us again, we'll even pay you just-"

"Now I couldn't turn down an opportunity like this when it presents itself so easily. Do you know how much gold we could get for that dragon's hide, not only that his skull would make a nice mantle piece for my quarters don't you think, and the fame we could get, we would go down in history as the first ever vikings to slay a night fury, this is a dream come true!" His fellow hunters cheered in admiration at their captain's speech.

Hiccup's blood ran cold, they were going to kill Toothless, they were going to kill his best friend for mutual gain, he couldn't lose Toothless, not know, he had been the best friend Hiccup had ever had, once again he would be left alone with no one to care for him, that's if these pirates even let him live.

"But you... you wouldn't sell for very much on the slave market, not very interesting and I don't know anyone who does business with dragon riders, but you did manage to kill Oswald, maybe you would like to replace him."

"I WOULD NEVER WORK FOR YOU LOW LIFE PIECES OF SHIT! BURN IN HELHEIM!" Hiccup's inner rage burst forth surprising the crew.

"Well looks like you've got some fight left in you yet, ah well, shame you didn't join us when we gave you the chance, now say goodbye to your dragon friend." Odysseus turned to Toothless who looked up at the man with fear he'd never seen from him before.

"NO PLEASE! PLEASE ILL GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT, PLEASE DON'T HURT HIM!" Hiccup was screaming at this point, tears flowed down his face and was fight frantically against the rope that restrained him.

 _*Hiccup, I just want you to know that I love you, that I'm thankful you are my friend.*_

"TOOTHLESS!" Odysseus raised his sword up high, ready to cut down on the dragons exposed neck. Hiccup couldn't bear to watch, he forced his eyes shut and hung his head in shame, waiting for this to all be over. Then he heard it, the imistakeable sound of steel tearing through flesh, the wet sound of blood splattering against the floor. Hiccup opened his eyes, daring to gaze upon the sight before him, but what he saw was nothing near what he expected to see.

Hiccup saw the captain impaled on an enormous sword, part of it had gone through to embed itself in the wood of the deck. Everyone looked in the direction the sword had come from to see a large hooded silhouette with yellow eyes perched on the bow of the ship, Khaine stepped down from the bow and and spoke with authority and hatred in his voice.

"I believe you have something of mine."

The men paid his words no heed and charged him, they had made a big mistake. Khaine drew another sword and deflected the first few blows that came at him with ease, then he started hacking and slashing his way through them, every hit was a killing blow and theirs were either deflected or dodged. Khaine was an unstoppable force of fury, the dragon hunters were slaughtered and those who survived fled below deck.

Khaine came over and cut Hiccup and Toothless' restraints, he took Hiccup's sword spear from the rack and passed it to him.

"I though I told you to stay put." Khaine seemed so calm after carving up half a boat load of people.

"Can we please talk about this later!"

"Fine now let's get out of here." As soon as the words left Khaine's mouth did the hunters resurface from below deck, having rallied with more numbers.

Hiccup knew that now he would have to do something he never though he would be able to do, he would have to kill. One man charged him from the left with an axe and shield and another on his right with a hammer, Hiccup dodged under a swing from the axe wielder and sliced through his abdomen, he met the hammer wielder head on with a leaping strike that stabbed the man through the heart. Hiccup looked up to see a crossbow aimed at him, he ducked the shot just in time, he went for an over head strike, but the hunter was lucky enough to have caught the shaft of the spear while trying to block the blade, he drew a dagger and swiped at Hiccup who's forearm was sliced down to the bone. Hiccup quickly recovered and swept his legs out from under him, the stunned hunter was finished off with a thrust of the blade into the center if his gut.

The battle was over after the sound of one more body hitting the floor, all three of them were covered in flecks of blood. The boats deck was littered with bodies and dismembered limbs, mostly being Khaine's doing. Hiccup could only stare at what was before him, what if there was another way, he could have taught the dragon hunters that dragons are only misunderstood, then maybe... maybe all this bloodshed would never have happened. Hiccup finally snapped out of it when Toothless push his head under his arm, crooning worriedly for his rider.

"Its OK bud, I... I'm fine." Toothless sniffed his arm and found the large gash in his forearm.

 _*Hiccup this wound is deep, I think you should tend to it immediately.*_

"Don't worry I'll bandage it up." Hiccup patted Toothless on the head, Hiccup was always thankful that he had a good friend at his side, but his wound wasn't what was on Hiccup's mind right now.

"Hiccup, you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah sure." Hiccup certainly wasn't alright, he seemed slightly spaced out and more focused on the battle that had just taken place.

"Its the killing isn't it?" Khaine had come to know this boy well over the past year and he knew that this situation would prove to be a big challenge for him, not just physically but emotionally as well, it might take some time for him to get over this but he would recover eventually.

"I'm thinking... maybe we could have convinced them ya know, then we could have avoided all of... this."

Khaine knelt down and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Listen Hiccup, I know you're one to try and avoid violent situations, but you're going to have to kill people if you want to survive, you and Toothless both. You will face many challenges in life and you will need to find your own way around them, I can't be around to help you forever. I know this won't be easy and you'll need some time to process this, but it will have to happen, some people can't be reasoned with and you _will_ have to kill them, understand?"

Hiccup stood idly for a moment before responding. "Yeah... I understand."

"Good, now let me see if I can find you a bandage for that." Khaine got up and headed down bellow deck to find some bandages. Toothless nudged his way under Hiccup's arm and crooned softly into his side.

"That was a close call 'ey bud?" Hiccup scratched Toothless' favorite spot under his chin, earning a warble of approval.

 _*Hiccup, I almost lost you back there, I felt so helpless in that moment and- look what I'm trying to say is that I love you and that I would never know what to do if I ever lost you.*_

Hiccup didn't need to know what Toothless was saying to understand him. "I love you too Toothless." The two then embraced each other and just stayed there for a while, that was until the voice of a certain revenant disrupted them.

"Hey Hiccup, Toothless, come check this out, you'll love this." Khaine called from bellow deck.

"Come on Toothless, let's see what he's got to show us." They both reluctantly pulled out of their embrace and went down the ramp that led bellow deck. They saw Khaine over by a door with light illuminating his silhouette.

"Come over here." They both followed him into the room, it was a small room with lots of maps, books, jewelry, a bed, two candles on a wooden desk to light the room, and a lone chest in the corner of the room. "I figured you would like all of this, but that's not all." Khaine moved over to the chest and opened it.

The chest was filled with luxurious items, fur clothes, wraps of silk, dragon pelts (unfortunately) and six pocket sized bags all presumably filled with gold. "What's in these?" Hiccup picked up one of the bags and jangled it slightly to hear the jingle of metal on metal. "Gold?"

"Well what else are you gonna put in a bag that small?" Khaine remarked. Hiccup took all six bags and stuffed them into his pockets, its not like the captain is going to spend any of it now is he? As Hiccup picked up the last bag he felt it didn't have any weight to it. "Huh?" He shook it just to make sure, it was faint but something was definitely in there, he took a look inside but didn't see anything but a small glint at the bottom of the bag, he felt around inside and found two small objects, he took them out and opened his palm to see two small black ovals that shone in the candle light.

"What are these?"

"I dunno, but they look expensive."

"Really?"

"What?"

"Whenever you talk you've always got some sage advice, you've always been the wise man of the group or at least have something intelligent to say, but instead you come out with 'it looks expensive.'"

"Oh really?" Khaine put on the best posh person voice he could. "How about now? Oh these are some very exquisite jewels we found on a ship who's crew was coincidentally dead when we arrived." Now he tried a pirate impersonation. "Or how about now little laddie 'ey?" And now he was just being stupid, he held all the bags of gold like it was a baby and was hunched over slightly. "Duuuuuuuh, dis is ma gold and I is gonna buy me a bucket for ma head hehehe." They were all in hysterics now, Toothless was able to maintain his balance while Hiccup was rolling around on the floor, clutching his stomach, Khaine had to lean on the wooden desk for support.

After a few moments they regained their composure. "Alright mister rocks for brains, let's head back to camp." To Hiccup's dismay Khaine was still making a fool of himself, now he was hopping around from one foot to the other while singing random tunes loudly and stupidly. Now it was Toothless' turn to fall over.

 _*Pl- please stop Khaine I- I can't breathe, I hahaHAHAHAHA!*_

"Come on Khaine, you- you look stupid... enough." Hiccup managed to get out through wheezes of laughter.

"Hey, at least _I_ have muscles." Khaine flexed his arms to show his masculinity.

"Nice try but you're not gonna get me that easily, come on I'm tired, let's go back to camp." They packed up all the things they found in the chest (except the dragon pelts of course) and made their way back to camp in their respective ways.

* * *

 **One Hour Later**

 **Back at Camp**

They were all sat around the campfire, Hiccup was digging in to the leg of a deer they caught this morning and had roasted it over the fire, Toothless had the rest of it since he need a much larger intake of protein. That was when something crossed Hiccup's mind.

"You know I just remembered." Hiccup said talking to no one in particular.

"Remembered what?"

"You never finished that story, ya know about how you became a revenant."

"I guess I never did finish it did I." Khaine seemed reluctant to cover the topic.

 _*Oh more stories of your past, please continue the tale."_

"Very well, let's get this over with."

"Khaine what's wrong? You sound like you don't want to tell the story." This was so unlike Khaine to hide something, or even act nervous for that matter.

"That's because this part of the story gets a bit... emotional." Emotional? Now something was definitely up.

"Come on. Where's that big ol' mentor of mine? This isn't like you, where's that sense of humor you had ten minutes ago?" Hiccup tried to get him to laugh it off, but Khaine gave Hiccup a glare that told him in no uncertain terms ' Not. Another. Word. '

"OK uh... I- I'll shut up." The tension hung in the air for a moment before Khaine broke the silence.

"Look I'll tell you the story, but I will warn you things will get a bit dark... if you know what I mean."

"Sure, um... OK."

 _*I understand Khaine."_

"Right, last time I think we left off at when the king took me under his tutelage, correct?"

"Yeah I think that was it."

"Very well, after that day I trained harder than I ever thought possible, the king's training pushed me to my limits, and beyond. I was taught to wield a variety of weapons, the history of war and those our nation took part in, even how to lead an army, it was almost as if he knew I was going to be the captain of the guard. After ten years of training I finally became one of the guard, and that was when I met _her._ "

"Who was 'her'?"

"She was one of the guard, she had joined only a few months before I had. She was beautiful, the way her scarlet red hair whipped around in the strong wind, the way her bright blue eyes reflected the sun's gaze, the way she spoke, firm but gentle, and the best part was we fell for each other, not just me." Khaine was completely enveloped in the details of his past, as he stared out into space with a glazed over look in his eye.

"Wow you too were quite the match huh." Hiccup couldn't help but think back to Berk and how things could have gone if he actually told Astrid about his feelings for her, would she have rejected him, would she have loved him back?

"We were content with each other, whatever time I didn't spend training or escorting the king through the city I spent with her."

"What was her name?"

"Her name was Astreya, the love of my life. After a year of being one of the kings royal guard the captain was killed in his sleep and I was elected to take his place despite my lack of experience, the killer was never found. I remember being paranoid for almost a month that the same killer might come after Astreya, but she helped me manage that. Some times we talked about how we wished we didn't become the kings guards so we could live a life of our own, have children of our own, but we were under oath to devote our lives to protecting the king, we never left the city walls unless the king left for some important meeting elsewhere and we had to escort him. Life wasn't the best but at least we had a roof over our heads and food on our plates."

"You said you studied battle tactics, did you ever go to war?"

"Yes, unfortunately that is where I met my end in my mortal life, although it was not the way I would have wanted it to be." Khaine's eyes held a furious, steely gaze that told bitter vengeance and hatred.

"What do you mean, ' not the way you wanted it. '" Hiccup was afraid to ask the question, he had never seen Khaine this angry before, he could snap out in anger and beat him to a pulp if he asked the wrong question.

* * *

 **Farrenhiem**

 **500 years ago**

Alexander Venerious Terrin, Captain of the king's royal guard, stood watch over his army, his swords both sheathed onto his back, his old swords had been replaced with ones made of silver with gold embellishment, while most of the King's guard wore bronze armor the captains armor was made of gold reinforced with iron, only the best for the royal guard. The visor of his helmet was like an oval shape except it was very thin, spread end to end at each side of the helmet, each end was pointed and the top and bottom sides were curved with about three inches of space between them to see out the front of it.

The mouth portion of the helmet extended forwards a few inches further than the rest of it, like half of a pyramid on its side with one corner facing down and the other two curved to meet at a point, on the left side was Farrenheim's flag engraved onto it, a knight with a longsword pointed towards the ground in a two hand grip with his head bowed, on the right side was various artistic patterns painted delicately with black paint. Lastly the helmet had two golden ornate wings fixed to either side. The armor was thin plated as well, as to compliment his fighting style, going into battle in heavy armor with dual swords was suicide, you'd have to be insane to even try.

The chest plate was covered in studs except in the center that had the face of a woman with a crown engraved into it. The shoulder guards were also studded but were silver instead, the edges were raised with slightly more golden/iron plating. The arms were much the same only without the studs, on the left fore arm the head of a lion was engraved and on the right fore arm the motto of the king's house was inscribed, 'The title of king is not a birthright but a privlage'.

It had been three years since he was appointed captain of the King's guard, he had seen his fair share of blood during his service, executing murderers and battling in a few skirmishes despite his young age. It had also been three years since he met Astreya, the years hadn't made her any less beautiful, he still silently prayed that they could be free of their oaths, that they could just run away and live a life of their own.

But that was not where his thoughts should lie at this hour, two weeks ago a warband of tribesmen came rushing from the east and burned three villages down, Farrenheim was next on their warpath and that was not going to happen to his home so long as he still drew breath. Alexander looked to the sky, judging from the suns position it was currently mid afternoon, the warband would be here before nightfall. The army was ready, he hoped that his years of experience had taught him well, Farrenheim was about to see war for the first time in half a century.

The captain knew exactly where to position his forces, shields at the front, swordsmen behind and archers at the back. Soldiers on horseback would circle around and strike from behind once the tribesmen forces had passed over the hills in the distance, this battle was as good as won, the numbers of these savages was no match for generations of battle strategies and the leadership of Farrenheim's best, their warband would be in ruins before dawn broke.

A lone figure emerged from the crowd, he only carried a quill and a rolled up piece of parchment, he must be one of the scribes.

"I bring a message from the king, it appears to be addressed to you mi'lord." Alex took the parchment and spelled off the seal before unravelling it.

 _Dear Alexander Venerious Terrin_

 _I request that you return your forces to the walls of the castle and take up position there, I have received word that another force is approaching from the west and we do not have the soldiers to fight a battle this size in two places at once. I know the village folk mean dearly to you but we cannot risk losing our entire army and then leaving the city defenceless, we will evacuate as many people as we can but time is of the essence and hate to say the village is all but lost._

 _Yours truly_

 _The Lord of Farrenheim_

"WHAT!?" Alex shouted so loudly it made some of the men jump and shuffle. Was the king serious, leave the village to burn? The city's population had long outgrown the limits of its walls so a village was built around the outskirts of the wall to house the city's people. But the city's wall only had four gates, there wouldn't be enough time for everyone to make it inside before the tribesmen got here, they would be slaughtered.

"Is there a problem captain?" The army's core general approached on horseback with his helmet visor lifted the reveal a bushy brown moustache and a face worn by battle and age.

"Listen, I have to see the king immediately, if I am not back by the time the enemy warband arrives then its up to you to lead the men into battle. Remember the plan, shields up front, swordsmen behind, archers in the back and horsemen circle around to counter attack."

"Aye sir."

"I will require your mount if I am to get there and back as fast as possible."

"Of course sir." The general kept off his horse and landed with a loud clatter of iron plates. Alex climbed atop the horse and set off for the castle gates at record speed.

Alex stormed through the village market place narrowly avoiding carts and stalls to reach the gates, as he arrived ten men from the city guard stood by the gates. Their attention was drawn to the horse approaching them dangerously fast, the horse came to a stop only a few meters, their back visibly straightened when they saw the captain of the royal guard atop it.

"You are the city guard correct?" The captain made it clear that he was not pleased in his tone.

"Y- yes my lord." The guard stuttered in the presence of this magnificent hero and failed to make eye contact.

"Then why are you not evacuating the village!" Now he was trembling, probably thinking his head was next on the chopping block for not carrying out the right orders.

"T-th-there has been no o-order of an evacuation sir."

Alex hesitated for a moment. The king had not ordered an evacuation? Didn't he say he had in his message.

"Well I'm ordering the evacuation, gather the rest of the guard and get to it!" With a single snap of the reigns, the horse galloped its way to the kings front door. Alex arrived at the steps leading to the castle's doors, upon dismounting the horse he was meet with a familiar face, Astreya.

"Alex what's going on! The tribesman's warband will be here any minute and the king is abandoning the village!"

"I've ordered an evacuation of the village and had the army hold its position until I return. I'm going to have a word with our lord." Alex made a move to the steps before a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Wait! Going against the King's word, are you insane? You're the captain of the guard, you remember the oaths we took, he could have your head."

"I will not stand by idly and watch my home burn to the ground."

"Then I'm coming with you, I'm not letting him lay a hand on you."

"Thanks, that really means a lot to me Astreya." The two of them shared a brief, heart felt kiss before running up the steps to confront the king about what was going on.

Upon entering the throne room everything was as it should have been, the royal guard stood in their regular positions, one by each pillar, the king was sat on the throne and the Farrenheim crest hung above the throne, but there was an ominous atmosphere in the room, something was off, and Alex was about to find out exactly what it was.

"Captain, is there a reason you are not with the army to help repel those barbarians?" King Farrenheim's scowl said that he was less than pleased.

"My lord, I received your message, surely you cannot abandon the village folk to the wrath of those savages, they'll be slaughtered, their homes plundered!"

"Which is why I ordered the village evacuated and we must move our forces behind the castle walls if we are to stand against their overwhelming numbers, that is what you have done haven't you?" Alex ignored the kings question and furthered his argument.

"I spoke to the city guard and no evacuation was ordered, the enemy will be here in a matter of minutes and-"

I AM THE KING, MY ORDERS HAVE BEEN GIVEN AND WE ARE SHORT ON TIME, SO WHY ARE YOU HERE AND NOT ON THE BATTLEFIELD CAPTAIN!" His voice echoed through the room and his face was seething red.

"With all due respect my lord, the village is my home, I can't stand by and just watch as those... _monsters_ burn it to the ground!" The king hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Are you... breaking your sworn oath to me captain, you know the price that comes with such disgraceful act, don't you?" Alex felt the stares of everyone present in the room bearing down on him, one of the guards to his left slowly shake his head, a warning not to press any further and beg for the King's forgiveness, but Alex was not the kind to back down from an authority figure.

My oath was to serve my king and to protect the people of Farrenheim, you have given me an order I cannot fulfill without breaking my oath."

"You have spoken your last, as the Fourth king of Farrenheim I declare you a traitor to your kingdom!" The king lifted his rapier and pointed it at Alex. "Kill him!"

The guards surrounded him with their weapons drawn, ready to attack. "What! You still follow him after he allows his people to suffer to save his own pathetic life, there is a fine line between loyalty and blind faith!"

"Enough of this madness! KILL HIM!" Alex had only enough time to draw his swords before he felt something cleave its way through his calve, he fell to one knee and a blade was held to his throat, he looked along the sword to see...

"Astreya?" Alex's voice cracked as he looked upon his lovers face, once a kind and gentle face now judging and hateful, her sword brandished with fresh blood and thirsted for more.

"I'm sorry Alexander, but my loyalty is to my king and you have betrayed him, while you may have forsaken your oath, I intend to honour mine and my king." Alex's world was shattered, the one person he thought he could have trusted, Astreya, had just turned her sword on him. He felt lost, he felt alone... he felt _betrayed._

Astreya lifted her sword to finish him, but there was a moment of hesitation in her swing, that was all he needed. Alex swung his swords upwards in a reverse grip to deflect the blow and rolled backwards to get to his feet. His injury would mean agility wasn't an option, he would have to stand his ground and deflect attacks as they came.

Astreya attacked first with an overhead strike, Alex responded by swinging his left sword to meet her's, Astreya then feinted her attack, withdrawing and dropping down to spin and take out his legs. Alex had predicted this, he had know her long enough to know how she fought, she was very reliant on counter attacks, sometimes _too_ reliant. Alex jumped over her sword and landed the butt of his right sword on the bridge of her nose, most likely breaking it. She stumbled and fell on her back, shocked at being bested so quickly by someone who was so severely crippled, truthfully Alex almost fell himself having to land on his bad leg.

"Why? Why Astreya? I loved you. I trusted you! You sold me out for a shred of honour, or did he pay you to stab me in the back!? How did he deceive the rest of you? Power, money, loyalty, lies? But that doesn't matter, what matters is that our king told me to leave the village undefended during an attack from a barbarian warband and didn't even order an evacuation, that village would be in ruins if I hadn't ordered it! HE WANTED ME TO LEAVE MY HOME TO BURN!"

The guards shuffled noticeably, they looked at each other not knowing if he was lying or not. "This man- no, this _fiend_ ordered me to forsake everything I fought to protect. Do you think he would care if you died, would want to die protecting someone who intentionally puts his people, the people who trust _him_ to protect them, in danger? Would you still follow him blindly if he told you to stand and watch while the people you love die right in front of you!?" The king was through with this charade.

"ENOUGH! I SAID KILL HIM SO KILL HIM!" The king had to shut him up before he convinced the entire guard to turn on him, his voice even carried a hint of fear. He was panicking.

Alex now pointed a sword towards the king. "Look! Even now he his desperate to hide the truth from you all! Tell me _my lord_ , why exactly did you want the barbarians to destroy the village? Did one of the village folk offend you and decide 'why not let the whole lot burn', or did you strike a deal with the enemy for a little bit of coin?" The guard had to make a choice now, all of them, loyalty to the throne, or to the kingdom.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU FILTHY BASTARD! STOP STANDING AROUND AND KILL HIM YOU WORTHLESS SHITS, KILL HIM!"

Then everything dissolved into chaos, members of the guard turned on one another, brother against brother, it was unclear who fought for what side. It all happened so fast, Alex didn't have time to react before a sword was shoved through his chest from behind. Time seemed to slow down as he fell to the floor, blood spewed forth from his wound like a fountain, men who once fought along side each other now cut down friends and rivals, the king ran through the side door to cementing his cowardice forever.

Alex hit the ground shoulder first, his agony subsided as his vision blurred and the sounds around him grew distant. The last thing he saw before he left the mortal world was Astreya's face crying and shouting at him, begging him to stay, then darkness claimed him. Before he passed on, he swore he could hear the quiet singing of an angel.

* * *

 **Midgard**

The three were dead silent for almost a minute, Khaine looked a broken man, amber yellow eyes staring into the fire in search of solace in his misery.

"I think... that's enough for one evening." Hiccup could have sworn he saw Khaine shed a tear before he wiped it away and looked away into the tree line.

"Khaine, are you OK?" Khaine steeled himself for a moment, standing up and walking away.

"Khaine!?"

"Yes Hiccup I'm fine. I'm going for a walk, you two get some sleep." Without another word he disappeared into inky blackness of the night.

 _*I never could have imagined Khaine would have such a troubled past, I hope he will be all right.*_

"I know Toothless I'm worried about him too." Hiccup was shocked, when Khaine said the story was going to get dark that wasn't what he expected.

"Maybe we should get some sleep bud, I'm sure Khaine will be back to his old self in the morning." Hiccup's thoughts were dashed as an anguished shout escaped from the forest, followed shortly by the sound of bark snapping and splintering. "Well I hope at least."

The two of them managed to get to sleep surprisingly easily with Khaine's screams echoing throughout the island. Hiccup didn't get much however, his sleep was plagued with nightmares about what could have happened on the boat if Khaine wasn't there to protect them.

Little did either of them know that this endeavor would strengthen them however, their journey was far from over and they would have to be strong, for each other, and for all of Midgard.

 **Thank you all for reading this chapter, feel free to leave a review and I'll try to upload sooner next time. If anyone still wants to make cover art PM me and we can make it happen.**


	4. Scars

**Hey, thanks to all of the followers, readers and reviews, I appreciate the support, sorry it took so long again, life is tough. BTW this chapter will focus mostly on Astrid. And about the thing where I put song lyrics at the beginning of the chapter, I'm not gonna do that anymore, it has occurred to me that I can't find a song for every chapter, sorry if anyone liked that but it'll only hold me up, I delayed this chapter for two days before realising this. Anyway enough about me, on with the story.**

Chapter Four: Scars

 **Normal POV**

Vikings and dragons have been at war for hundreds of years, Viking slaying dragon and dragon slaying Viking, blood shed across the lands of the Archipelago, none more so than Berk. The Hairy Hooligans of Berk lived closest to Helheim's Gate where it is believed that the dragon's nest resides.

Once the Hooligans saw this as sport as well as defending their home from blood thirsty dragons. But as the years passed the frequency of dragon attacks increased, even to the point where it became tradition as peace treaties signed by chiefs were signed in dragon blood, the dragon attacks became bigger, lasted longer, more violent, more organised and occurred on a regular basis. Collateral damage wasn't minimal but it was rare for even one entire house to burn down, maybe a torch tower or two but never a building.

Now things were getting bad, since summer two years ago the number of dragons attacking in raids has gone up to almost fifty and some even lasted until after sun rise. The damage caused in each raid could barely be repaired in time for the next, the dragons have gotten smarter too, now they would focus on less defended areas and save each other if need be. This is what would be running through a certain Hofferson's head on a regular day on Berk, this was not a regular day.

A young woman with blonde hair was sprinting towards a burning house. Usually her hair was held up by a leather band but it had come slightly loose in the thick of battle and a clump of hair was stuck to the side of her face with sweat. She still wore her signature blue top and spiked leather skirt, she had outgrown her top but it was partial to her, sometimes she regreted this decision because it was beginning to reveal her abdomen beyond the rim, it being too small for her now, it was especially a problem when she passed by onlookers in the village, like a certain Jorgenson.

She came face to face with the culprit of the fire, a nadder was poking around inside the house in search of food or prey, Astrid hacked at one of its legs and drew significant blood, this caught its attention as it pulled its head out of the doorway, and taking some of the flaming structure with it, to strike at her. The nadder shot several of its spines out at Astrid, of whom rolled to the right to avoid injury, she landed two more axe strikes on its face before it tucked tail and run. A tub full of water flew overhead and dispersed its contents over the house, putting the fire out.

Astrid turned to see the chief of Berk standing stoic against all odds, hammer and shield in hand, ready to defend his people.

"Astrid, what've we got?"

"The usual sir: nadders, gronckles, zipplebacks and nightmares." She knew what the aged viking chief would ask next, the same thing he had been asking for the past two years.

"Any night furies?"

"None chief." A lone viking came stumbling over, exhausted and hurt.

"Stoick, a pack of monstrous nightmares are torchin' the store house! We have to do something!" As if things couldn't get any worse for them, a gronckel flew by and blasted a catapult to smithereens. Then Stoick started barking orders over the raging battle around them.

"You lot grab some bolas and protect our catapults, someone get this man to the healer, Astrid, Spitelout, you'll be comin' with me to take back the storehouse!" All vikings went to fulfill their tasks with haste.

The three headed straight for the store house, barging through anything that stood in their path in a triangle formation, Stoick leading at the front and Astrid and Spitelout on the flanks, Stoick even smashed aside a stray cart rolling down a slope. At the top of a hill in the far side of the village was the store house, just like the man said three monstrous nightmares were burning and clawing their way to the goods inside. With a mighty war cry the chief and his companions charged the dragons. All three dragons immediately took notice and scurried towards their new targets.

Astrid was faced with a yellow nightmare, not a very common colour for its kind, its head would make a very nice trophy for her room. Astrid rarely took trophies, only if it was a dragon she had not yet killed or if that kill meant something to her, this dragon will regret threatening her home and it will pay in blood.

The dragon spewed forth fire in an arc to keep Astrid at bay, she had seen this before however and reacted by rolling under the fire and embedding her axe in its lower jaw. The beast recoiled in agony and shook it's head to try and rid itself of the axe, in its rage the dragon lit itself ablaze preventing Astrid from taking advantage of the situation. Astrid had to think fast, this thing would come back to its senses eventually and when it did she would be next on the menu.

"The well." It was only a couple of feet away, she dashed across the field and quickly filled a bucket of water, it was her luck that the nightmare was still frantically flailing about, she only had one shot, she had to make it count. Astrid swung the bucket into the air, dowsing the dragon's head and parting the flames, but this wouldn't last long so she had to be quick. The dragon finally rid itself of the axe by clawing it out and focused its attention on her. Astrid flung herself onto the dragon's head and grabbed a hold of one of its horns, the dragon whipped its head around wildly trying to fling her off.

Astrid managed to get good foothold on the base of its skull, she pulled out her dagger and began taking wild swings at it, but the dragon just kept waving its head around, any hits she did land weren't strong enough to penetrate its scales. She felt the dragon's skin getting hotter through her boots and patches of fire were appearing on its head, Astrid didn't have much time left, she had to think of something now.

She had an idea, carefully she steadied her arm as much as she could and aimed her dagger between the scales, she jabbed at them until she wedged the blade in a gap, now she had it, she moved it to an angle that would drive the blade straight through its skull, with all the force she could muster Astrid pushed down on the hilt as well as throwing her own weight onto it and the dagger hit home. The dragon flung its head back in one last pained roar, throwing Astrid onto its back which was still aflame, she fell off and rolled all the way to the bottom of the hill, she patted herself down to check for any burning fabric before picking herself up off the ground. She looked up the hill and saw Stoick finishing off his monstrous nightmare with one last blow to the head from his hammer, the one remaining flew away towards the sun slowly rising over the horizon, then one by one the dragons retreated, back towards Helheim's gate. She looked around, she had ended up at the end of a street with a row of houses on each side, some houses burnt to the ground others only partially damaged.

It was over, they had protected Berk for one more day, they were safe. Then Astrid heard it, that one word that would be burned into her memory forever, that one name.

"TIMBERJACK!"

Astrid turned to where the shout had come from to see a row of houses explode in a shower of debris and splinters, she just barely caught the outline of a dragon before her abdomen ruptured in agony as she was thrown violently across the street.

The pain was so intense she couldn't contain her screams, she looked down to try and find the injury, she saw a massive slash across the right of her ribcage, she was bleeding profusely and blood was starting to pool around her. It was just too much, all she could do was scream, she could barely make out the moistness around her eyes, she was crying, she wasn't ready to die, no, she had to see her parents again, this wasn't how she wanted it to end yet she was powerless to stop it.

Her vision was starting to fade and the noise around her was drifting away, her entire body felt cold and she no longer held the energy to scream, only pained breaths came out. In that moment Astrid truly accepted her fate, her body was numb and her sight was swallowed by the inky blackness. The last thing she heard before she passed on to enter the gates of Valhalla was the Chief's voice.

"Astrid! Can you hear me. SOMEONE GET THE HEALER OVER HERE NOW! Astrid!"

* * *

 **Traders Port**

 **South East Archipelago**

 **Hiccup's POV**

This was the first time Hiccup had been among Viking civilization for two years, it was kind of weird seeing all of these normal sized vikings instead of just Khaine's huge frame all the time. They had stopped by a traders port this morning because Hiccup had seen a smithy during a brief fly over last night. They landed in the forest and slept there over night.

Hiccup headed into the port first thing in the morning, he wore a hood on his way through in case he bumped into anyone who knew him, he was heir to one of the greatest Viking tribes in the Archipelago, he was bound to be noticed. Hiccup got lost several times trying to navigating the streets, turns out the port is also a part of a small town further in land. The streets were packed with people and were very narrow, the buildings all looked so similar, they definitely had their own unique designs but the difference between buissines and housing seemed to blur.

When Hiccup finally arrived at the smithy an hour later, he walked in and was surprised with what he saw. Despite how small the building seemed on the outside it was very spacious, weapons of all sorts hung on racks on either side of the room, three weapons in particular were in a display case on a pedestal in the centre of the room.

"See something' ya like boy?" Hiccup had failed to notice a middle aged man behind the counter at the back of the room, he had swept back blonde hair and long bushy beard. "And what's with the hood?"

"Oh um... well you see, I'd rather not be recognised." He had really hoped no one would question the hood, but he didn't have any other disguise.

"Why, did ya do somethin' wrong?" The man raised a questioning eye brow.

"W-what of course not, do I look like someone who did something wrong?"

"Well yer wearing a hood and don't want to be noticed, plus yer a terrible liar." The man listed off. He'd really landed himself in it this time, he would need a very convincing cover story if he wanted to get out of this without any ensuing violence.

"Now if you tell me exactly who you are and why ya don't want to be recognised, I might consider _not_ killing ya." Of course, usual Viking reason, what should he have expected.

"OK fine, just don't rat me out."

"Depends."

Hiccup had to think fast, what would dissuade him from trying to lob his head off, something heroic? Yes, that was it. "Well I kind of have a bounty on my head."

"What for?"

"I attacked boat and freed a bunch of people being sold as slaves, someone wasn't too happy about it and placed a bounty on me, I've been on the run for about a month now."

"So ya freed some slaves? Then why don't ya just tell em what ya did?" This man was not letting him go easily that was for sure.

"I did, but you know there's always those people who would rather some extra gold over the truth." The blacksmith thought to himself for a moment, Hiccup waited anxiously for his response, heart pounding in his ears.

"OK I believe yer story, but I want to see yer face." Damn! Hiccup had no way out of this without, A: getting into a brawl with this guy, or B: running for his life with the town's populace on his arse. Slowly he pulled his hood down and awaited the guys response.

"Hm... OK kid, I don't remember yer face from the wanted board so yer fine with me, but I'm watching ya." The man stared at Hiccup sternly, he trusted him but was on his guard, but he was surprised this guy didn't recognise the son of the _Stoick the Vast._ "So what did ya come he for anyway?"

"I just came here to see if there was a forge I could use, I have gold if I need to pay."

"Of course, but what for, if I could ask?"

"Well back home I was a blacksmith like yourself and I've been away for quite some time, wouldn't want my skills going to waste now would I?" Hiccup explained. The blonde chuckled at his statement.

"Oh yes, I have one in the back, but it will cost you. What do you have to pay me for the time?"

"How's this for now?" Hiccup produced five gold pieces from his pocket and handed them to the man.

"Sure, stall closes in four hours so make sure yer done by then." The man pointed to a door to the left of the counter. Hiccup opened the door and stepped inside, it was quite small, the forge was mainly split into three desks: one with an anvil, one with a hearth, and one that was empty save for a few bolts and a hammer.

This was all just to keep his smithing skills up to date, he should start with something basic like a sword. "One sword coming up." Hiccup mumbled to himself. He walked over to the hearth, the coals weren't hot enough, Hiccup grabbed the top handle of the bellows and pushed down hard, almost too hard, if he put any more force into it he could have broken it. "I don't remember it being _that_ easy." The hearth lit up like a bonfire on Snoggeltog. "There, now were does he keep his molds?" Hiccup searched the room and saw a cupboard above the empty workstation, he opened it and found the molds he was looking for on the bottom shelf, as he took them down he noticed on the top shelf there was a rolled up piece of parchment, curiosity got the best of him and he couldn't help but take a look at what might be inside. He unraveled the paper to gaze upon the most intricately complex design in all of Viking history. "Who in the name of Asgard could have designed this?"

"I see ya found that crack pot of a design." Hiccup jumped at the sound of an intruding voice, he turned to see the blacksmith standing in the doorway, how long had he been there, he hadn't even heard him open the door.

"Did you draw this?"

The man simply shook his head. "I'm afraid not lad, couple of years ago a shady lookin fella came in here and asked if I could make it for him, I said I'd try but after a month I just couldn't figure out how to complete it."

"Complete it? You mean the design isn't finished?" Looking at it now Hiccup could see that there were some parts that were unspecified and it was not clear what materials to use and where.

"Ay' the man never came back though, wonder where he went?"

"Do you think I could give it a try?" A smile turned from one of wonder to one of mischievousness.

"Oh that look on yer face says it all boy, yer welcome to try but don't even know ye would start."

Hiccup took another glance at the drawing. "I'll need some more time in the forge to make this and some more materials too."

"Woah woah, how much 's this costin' me?" The blacksmith interjected into his plans.

"Oh don't worry about that... erm... come to think of it I never got your name."

"The name's Magnus, Magnus Yeygerman."

"OK Magnus, I think I've got all the costs covered with this." Hiccup shoveled around in his pocket to reveal a green jem about the size of an iron stud and gave it to Magnus.

"Holy mother of Thor, where did ya get this lad?" The smith quickly skimmed over the priceless jem now in his possession.

"I've been a few places ya know, across the seas, seen a few people." Hiccup quickly fibbed, he couldn't just say he killed an entire crew of dragon hunters and accidentally stumbled upon it.

"Take as much time as you need boy, I'm off to see that foreign fella down at the market to see how much I could get for this, heheHAHA! Magnus rushed himself out of the smithy and left a sign on the door and merged with the crowd until Hiccup couldn't see him anymore.

Hiccup stared at the drawing intent on finishing this project, Khaine and his training can wait, this was going to be his masterpiece. His brain started conjuring ideas by the second, this wasn't going to be easy but it would be worth it in the end. " Berk if only you could see me now."

* * *

 **Berk**

 **Astrid's POV**

It felt like an eternity for Astrid, floating in an endless void, she couldn't see, hear, or feel anything for she didn't even know how long. Then she started hearing voices, ones she recognised as her mother and father's voices.

"Oh Brenda, why wasn't I there to protect her, if I had been there she wouldn't be like... this." Her father sounded heartbroken, but what did he mean 'like this'? Did something happen?

"Its not your fault Haldor, you couldn't have know, no one could have-". She was cut off sharply by her husband.

"WELL I SHOULD HAVE! What kind of father can't protect his only daughter?" What ever had happened, he felt that it was his fault. Astrid tried to cry out to her parents but nothing came out, but why? Why was she in this _limbo_? Was she dead?

"Maybe we should go somewhere else for a while, that should take your mind off of things." Brenda reasoned.

"Your right Brenda, I shouldn't be in here wallowing in my misery, it won't bring her back any quicker. Gothi said she'd make a full recovery and she will." He sounded a little more hopeful now.

"That's the spirit, let's go get something to eat."

Astrid heard a slight shuffle next to her. "You keep fighting my little warrior, you'll be with us soon, I know it, we'll be right here waiting for you." She felt her father plant a kiss on her forehead, then footsteps that quickly faded.

Then she heard her mother's voice again. "Stoick, you can't possibly think that she's... she's."

"I'm sorry, but Gothi's done everythin' she can for her, we can keep giving her baths to somewhat keep her hydrated but until she wakes up she can't eat or drink, if she doesn't wake up then she'll die of starvation, the only thing we can do now is wait."

"No. No! There has to be something we can do, something we can just give her to make her better, there has to be a way!" Her father was defiant to the end, she couldn't imagine what he would if she didn't pull through. "Dear Odin, please don't take my little girl away from me." Haldor dissolved into tears, crying as Astrid felt him hold her head against his chest. Why couldn't she wake up, she didn't understand. Then the noises stopped and her father's arms disappeared, she didn't feel him pull away, he just _vanished_.

Then it all turned to chaos, Astrid heard the shouts and screams of fellow berkians, the roars and screeches of dragons, she could smell the burning of her home. She desperately tried to move and open her eyes but they wouldn't open and she couldn't feel her body, or anything.

Her parents were out there fighting, they could be hurt or worse, yet she was stuck here unable to help her people. She was furious, she was frightened, but most importantly, _she was alone_. Then everything faded again. Why? Why was this happening, was she really dead, was this the gods way of punishing people for their past sins, if it was she knew why she was here, because she bullied Hiccup, she made him run away and they had no idea if he was even alive or not.

Astrid didn't know how long it had been before her vision began to brighten, the feeling in her face came back, then the neck, then the arms and all the way down to her feet. She began to hear things, footsteps to her left, she started to open her eyes, it was a task but she eventually pried them open with all the strength she had.

Astrid was in a small hut with potions and chemicals lining the shelves, she knew this place, Gothi's hut. She looked slightly to her left and saw a very small old woman with a wooden staff almost twice her height.

"Gothi? Arrgh!" As Astrid tried to sit up a stabbing pain made itself known on the right of her abdomen. Gothi motioned for her to lay back down and handed her a piece of bread, as soon as Astrid laid eyes upon it she felt so hungry she almost pulled a muscle trying to snatch it out of the old woman's hand. Gothi pulled it out of her reach before she could take it.

"Gothi please, I'm so hungry." Astrid's voice was hoarse, she needed water too. Gothi broke off a small chunk of the bread and gave it to Astrid who gobbled it down as fast as she could, Gothi tapped her on the shoulder and made a weird hand motion where she held her flat palm out and slowly pressed it forward, it took Astrid a moment to figure out what she meant but she got it in the end.

"Oh, eat it slowly, OK." Gothi nodded and handed the bread back to her, after a few bites Astrid had to ask. "Do you have any water, my throats a little dry." The elderly woman took a cup off the table behind her and handed it to Astrid. After chugging half the glass she pulled away gasping, finally relived of her thirst. "Thank you Gothi." Astrid now took the time to think about other things, the first one that came to mind was-

"Wait! Gothi what about the dragon raid, are my parents OK?!" Gothi nodded once again. "Oh thank Thor." Now Gothi started walking towards the door.

"Wait Gothi, where are you going?" She simply pointed at her then at the bed she was laying on. Astrid slumped back onto the pillow as the elder left the hut. Astrid sat in silence for a while thinking about what could be going on in the village. "Wonder how the rest of the gang is getting on without me."

 **The Great Hall**

 **Stoick's POV**

"What're we going to do Gobber?" Stoick asked his old childhood friend. Last nights raid had been a brutal one, many houses were destroyed so their residents would have to sleep in the great hall tonight, there were three casualties of who's funeral pyres were sent adrift this morning. The Armory and Gobber's workshop had been blown to pieces, the two were in close proximity, always have been, then a pack of zipplebacks blew the place sky high, now they had no weapons to defend themselves.

"I don't know Stoick, I could get the forge fixed with a little help but I'll only be able to get a handful of weapons made in time for the next raid."

"Ah, why didn't I see what they were doing from the start, damn beasts 're getting smarter by the day." The chief slammed his fist into the table they were sat at.

"Don't blame yourself Stoick, the dragon's 're unpredictable, ye couldn't have know."

"If only Astrid were here, she would've been able to hold tha' bastards off. She's one of Berk's finest, can't imagine what would happen if we lost her, the Hoffersons 're one of the best clans on the island when it comes to fighting. Hal and Brenda are too old to have another child, if she doesn't make it... it could mean the end for the Hofferson clan." Those words weighed heavily on both men's minds.

"Hey everyone! Trader Johan just sailed into port, he's probably got some awesome stuff for us!" Everyone turned to hear Fishlegs' announcement and left their seats to meet the afore mentioned man at the docks.

"Hey, maybe i could buy a new mace from Johan, what do you think sis?" Tuffnut lost his mace in last nights raid after a nadder incinerated half of the metal end of it.

"Totally- wait, we don't have any gold." Ruffnut answered and was answered back by her brother's anguished cries, he was partial to his mace.

The Thornstons words spun the gears in the aging chief's head and he came up with a solution. "That's it!"

"Uh, what's it?"

"We could buy weapons to replace the ones we lost, there's a trading port a few days southeast of here, I could take our gold supply, buy the weapons and be back before the next raid."

"And yer sure they'll have that many weapons for sale?"

"No, but its the best shot we've got, I'll go prepare a ship for departure." The chief was halted by his friend with an outstretched hook.

"You're needed here chief, I'll go get tha weapons, tha village needs their chief in dark times such as these."

"Very well Gobber, take whoever you need with ya, the whole village is depending on ya now."

"Aye chief." Gobber got up from his seat and headed for the docks. Stoick thought he might as well follow him as he needed to see Johan anyway.

 **The Docks**

After a long talk about how many weapons were to be brought, how much gold to take and which direction to go they reached the docks where trader Johan was. He was having trouble holding back the crowd of berkians that threatened to flood the deck.

"Be patient now, I know your all excited but I can't sell anything until the chief arrives!" As if on cue, Stoick worked his way to the front of the crowd to meet Johan. "Stoick! What a pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure to meet you as well Johan you'll always be welcome on our shores. People please file in ten at a time, you'll all get to see Johan's wares when its yer turn!" Vikings came and went, buying all sorts of odd things from Johan. Then came along the teens.

Snotlout was looking at swords and insisted he try to lift an axe that was almost the size of him, Ruff and Tuff were eyeing the stuffed yak on display even though they knew they couldn't afford it, Fishlegs was freaking out because he couldn't decide which book to buy.

"Oh. My. Thor. This is it, the perfect mace! Tuffnut held a mace with a headpiece made of silver, an oak wood handle and a spiked pommel. "If I had this I could kill any dragon, even the mighty night fury!"

"Psh, yeah right, if anyone here could kill a night fury, it would be me!" Snotlout scoffed

"Like hell!"

"Wanna prove me wrong Tuff, let's see if you can actually use that thing!"

"ENOUGH! The both of ya!" Stoick was tired of these two and their antics, he would not see a fight break out on Johan's ship, that and of that mace was damaged in any way then someone would have to pay for it and Tuffnut clearly didn't have any gold on him. "Neither of ya will be killing a night fury, there hasn't been a sighting of one in two years and there hopeful never will."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but..." Johan interrupted.

"Johan, don't tell me you've actually seen one." If the night furies were coming back then Stoick feared for the safety of his people, the raids were bad enough without them.

"Not myself but almost a year ago I met a man who says he was attacked by one. It was a nice summers morning, the wind at my back-"

"Johan, the night fury." Stoick reminded.

"Oh yes, well while I was sailing I found a ship that seemed to be abandoned, but as I drew closer that was not the case. The whole crew had been butchered!" Gasps and shouts were heard all around.

"OK but what about this man you met, the one that saw the night fury." Stoick inquired.

"I boarded the vessel to look for survivors, I really wanted to just turn the other way and leave but I had to know. I found one alive below deck, he was missing an arm but he managed to patch himself up pretty well."

"And what did he say about the night fury?" Stoick pressed on, he had to know if it was really out there or not.

"I took him back to my ship to help with his wounds and he went on about this crazy story, but I think he exaggerated some of the details."

"Why would you think that Johan?"

"Well... he said there was someone riding the damn thing. If I recall his words exactly he said it was a teenage boy who couldn't have been any older than sixteen, he had brown hair and green eyes and a bit on the skinny side." Stoick thought for a moment, he just described his son who had been missing for two years now, could it be.

"But he also said that he wielded some sort of spear, like he was born to use it, killed a couple of his men too." Never mind, Stoick knew his son, he didn't have the heart to kill someone.

"But that wasn't the strangest part about it, he said he and his crew caught the boy and his dragon, he and his crew were dragon hunters apparently. The captain was about to take the dragons head when a daemon from the depths of the underworld came out of nowhere, I personally don't want to believe it but..."

"Johan, what do you mean you don't _want_ to believe him."

"He told me the daemon had two enormous swords that could cut a man clean in half. Stoick I saw the bodies, some of them were cut clean in half, not torn, cut."

"Other things could have done that, like a timberjack." Fishlegs jabbed into the conversation.

"Master Fishlegs I'm no dragon expert but I've heard that timberjacks are very big dragons correct?" Fishlegs nodded. "Well the ship was very much intact, not a scratch on it, I don't see how it could have killed the crew with its razor sharp wings without damaging the ship. Not only that, the burn marks on the bodies were more like they were hit with a projectile like fire, there were no scorch marks on the ship, only on the bodies and I've heard that the night fury never misses."

"Well where is this man now?"

"Unfortunately he passed that night, his injuries got the better of him, I made him a funeral pyre myself and sent him on his way to Valhalla. But he did give me something when he was telling his story, I'll go get it now." Johan disappeared below deck to find whatever it was he was talking about.

"Chief what are we goin' to do, if that night fury comes here we're finished, the raids 're bad enough as it is." This was starting to cause panic amongst the crowd, Stoick needed to stop this before it got out of had.

"Do not worry everyone, Johan has yet to show any solid proof that this is actually a night fury, you all know how he is about his stories." Then Johan came back up from below deck and produced a single black scale. Stoick took it in his own hand, it looked like any other dragon scale he'd seen before, except this one was black as night, just like the night fury.

"Fishlegs, can ye tell me if this scale is the real deal?" Fishlegs' knowledge of dragons was unparalleled by anyone on Berk, if anyone could tell, he could.

Fishlegs gave it a look over. "Looks like a dragon scale." He tried biting down on it. "Very resilient, not metallic either." Then he tried scraping the surface of it with a knife. "It definitely not paint. Now for the final test, does anyone have have a source of fire?"

"I have a match." Stoick piped up. He pulled a match out of his pocket and handed it to Fishlegs.

"It'll have to be bigger, Johan can I use that sconce on the side of the mast, oh and those tongs?"

"Of course master Fishlegs." The teenager used the match to light the sconce and used the tongs to place the scale inside the fire. After several moments of waiting, the scale showed no signs of burning or melting. Fishlegs picked it out of the fire and looked over it again.

"No signs of burning or melting, completely fireproof. I hate to say it chief but this is a dragon scale." Just what Stoick was dreading, there was proof that the night fury was still out there somewhere.

"By Thor's hammer, what'll we do?" They were never able to take down the night fury in the raids years ago, what chance did they stand now?

"Well Johan, yer story checks out, but I don't believe anything about this daemon nonsense. This boy controlling a dragon business seems a bit far fetched as well." Stoick cocked an eyebrow at Johan.

"No no, I swear that's just what I was told-"

"Johan I don't want you riling up the village folk any more than you already have with this tall tale of yer's, get back to sellin' yer wares before I kick ye out of port!"

'Y-yes of course chief." Johan cowered in the mans gigantic presence, there was more than one reason why he was called Stoick the Vast. He walked back across the boarding plank and towards the village to resume his chiefly duties.

Stoick sighed. "When did things get so out of hand, the raids are picking up, we can barely keep up with the repairs and now Johan's off telling stories about daemons and dragon riders? When did it all get so bad?" He knew when, it all started around the time his son, Hiccup, had run off on some perilous adventure, vowing to one day return. Then the raids started getting worse and everything went downhill.

He remembered when he first found out about his son's disappearing act, he was furious about it, the only reason he didn't denounce him heir back then was that the laws forbid denouncing an heir unless for an act of direct treason. He hated his son back then, until he realised why he ran away, it was because he never listened to him, never heard him out on any of his ideas, because the entire village looked down on him. Stoick wish he could go back and give his son all the support he needed, all the love and care a father should have given his child, but that was never going to happen, his son would likely never return. Stoick was long passed being mad at his son, now he just wanted him to come home, he would give anything, anything in the world for that.

"Hiccup, son. Where are you? The chief quietly murmured to himself.

 **Traders Port**

It had been six days since Hiccup found that design, since he started forging again... since he'd last had a shower. But Hiccup couldn't focus on such trivial things such as _showers_ when his masterpiece was almost complete, just a few last minute tweaks and it would be finished.

"Ye got ten minutes left back there lad!" Magnus bellowed from his counter in the main shop. Hiccup was still using the forge during open hours, it seemed to fit with Magnus' schedule, the blacksmith would sell wares in his shop eight hours a day then he would make weapons then he would spend the rest making or fixing things or do whatever he wanted to do.

"Don't worry yourself Magnus, I'm almost done." All he needed to do was screw one more bolt down and... done. "OK, let's try this again." Hiccup was praying this would be the time that it worked. He brought his invention out from the backroom and into the front of the store. "Alright Magnus, prepare the target board."

"Whatever you say, Jack." He'd given Magnus a fake name to call him by, he didn't want to lie to the guy, sure he seemed like a decent man and would probably keep it a secret if he told him but he couldn't risk leaving a trace, not if Berk was still looking for him.

Hiccup carried his new creation to the left side of the room and Magnus put the target board, which was just a wooden circle with a target painted on it, on the right side of the room up against the wall. Hiccup held a new kind of crossbow, but this wasn't just something new, this would be revolutionary. It was a crossbow that could fire multiple shots before having to be reloaded with another lot of bolts. Hiccup took aim and pulled the trigger, the contraption make a loud * _click, clack*_ sound after firing. Hiccup pulled the trigger again almost instantly as the first bolt struck the target and fired a second bolt that landed right next to the other. Hiccup fired many more bolts into the target until ten bolts stuck out of the target like thorns.

"Odin's ghost. That thing can fire ten bolts without restocking? How did ye manage that!?"

"Oh this baby has a _lot_ of moving parts, its a bit bulky too, I'll have to work on the design a bit more but for now..." Hiccup trailed off. Now he would be leaving and this time he wouldn't be coming back the next day, he had grown used to Magnus' presence while he worked.

"Well it was nice having ya here lad, good luck with the whole outlaw business, hope it turns out well for ya."

"I can draw you a copy of the design if you want."

"Nah boy, stuff like that is too complicated for the likes of me, I can't make any so I can't turn a profit. You keep it, it was just an idea until ye came along and made it a reality, its yer's now."

"Wow thanks. I guess I'll see you again someday?"

"Come by anytime kiddo, yer always safe with me." Hiccup packed his new toy into his bag and slung it over his shoulder, he turned back one last time to regard the blacksmith.

"Goodbye Magnus."

"See ya Jack."

Hiccup concealed his face with his hood before stepping out into the afternoon sun. Hiccup had his fun, now it was back to training, Khaine had been on his case all week about how he should be training, sometimes he wished he could kick his ass just to shut him up. Hiccup was so lost in thought that he didn't even see someone walking directly in front of him, he collided with the mans beefy shoulder and was almost knocked over because of how large he was, he was about yell at him when a hook was waved about in front of him.

"Watch it ya lousy bugger, can't ye see I'm walkin' here!" Gobber's yelling was drawing attention, he needed to get out off here before he could figure out who he was.

"Oh, uh s-so sorry sir." Hiccup lowered his head and walked away as quickly as he could to escape Gobber. He headed for an alley, if he could just round the corner at the end of the alley he could run the rest of the way to the woods and be out of here before Gobber could catch him, not that Gobber could catch him with that peg leg of his.

"Hey! Come back here, I'm not done talking to ye! GET BACK HERE YEW BLOODY SCOUNDREL!" Finally he rounded the corner, Hiccup broke into a full sprint, he followed the back alleys until he found the one that led to the woods. Despite already outrunning Gobber ten fold at this point he kept running, if they were searching for him then they were bound to comb the woods to find him, Khaine would be alright if he was discovered, it was Toothless he was worried about, if they found him they would take him back to Berk and put him on trial for abandoning his village-to-be and would no doubt kill Toothless the first chance they got.

As soon as he breached the clearing both dragon and revenant noticed his panic.

"Hiccup what's the rush? Did you finally finish your new toy-"

 _*Hiccup, are you OK?*_

"Now is really not the time Khaine!" Hiccup cut him off sharply. "People from Berk are here and they're looking for me, we need to leave now." Hiccup was frantically packing things in Toothless' side pack.

"Say no more Hiccup, you and Toothless go, we'll talk later." Khaine tossed Hiccup his sword spear, he caught it in his left hand as he climbed onto the saddle.

"Come on Toothless, let's get out of here bud." With a single mighty flap of Toothless' wings the duo bolted into the sky, quickly soaring away from the port and out into the vast ocean. "That was too close, Gobber nearly busted be."

 _*Khaine did warn you not to stray too close to Berk, but did you listen nooooooo.*_

Hiccup might not have been able to understand him but he'd spent enough time around his dragon to know what he meant. "Don't you throw the blame on me Toothless, all I wanted was to relax a little, do something different for a change, I thought the forge would be a nicer for me, ya know for _once_ I just wanted a little break. Besides after two years I thought they would have given up the search by now, I mean I did ask them not to look for me in the first place, but they're vikings, why did I even think they'd listen to me?" Hiccup facepalmed, but he knew he had to at least leave them a note, although he will definitely get one hell of a talking to from his father and that was if he hadn't been branded a traitor.

"We're going to have to be more careful in the future bud." Toothless growled in response.

 _*You think?*_

 **Berk**

Astrid was hobbling her way past tables and other vikings twice her size, carrying a plate of mutton and potatoes in one hand and a crutch in the other. Her mother Brenda saw her struggling and came over to help.

"Oh dear let me take that for you, come sit with us, we'll have a talk." Brenda took her plate for her and led her to their table.

"Thanks mom, but I could've done it myself."

"Honey, me and your father know how independent you are but you don't have to go through this on your own, its OK to ask for help."

"OK mom." It didn't matter how many times her mother said it, she wouldn't let them baby her, she knew they just wanted to help and they weren't wrong for trying, but she still valued her independence. Upon arriving at the table, her father enveloped her in a bear hug, of course being very careful not to aggrivate her injury.

"How's my daughter doing today?"

"I'm OK dad." Astrid answered very glumly.

"Astrid, we know ye want to be out there fighting the dragons, but yer not fit ta fight a boar, much less a dragon." Haldor tried to sooth, but his daughters foul mood remained.

"I know dad, but you heard what happened in the last raid, people died. This village depends on me, they need me, I have to be out there next time or Thor knows what will happen!" Astrid was determined, now more than ever, to defend her home from those monsters, this was the place she grew up in, the people she had known for years, she was not going to give that up. She would give the ultimate sacrifice for them if it came to it. She would die to protect her village.

"Calm down love, Gothi says you'll be ready for action by next week-"

"When next week!?" Astrid harshly interrupted her mother.

"We don't know Astrid-"

"There's gonna be another raid next week mom, whether or not I'm fully rested I _am_ going out there, the raids are getting worse and they _need_ me out there, can't you see that!" Astrid was almost shouting now, frustrated that see couldn't help the people who needed her now more than ever. Why couldn't her parents understand.

"Listen Astrid." It was Haldor's turn to join the conversation. "Ye know yer our only child right?"

"Uh yeah?" Astrid replied rather confusedly

"And that we have no living family other than each other, right?"

"Yeah?" Where was he going with this and why did she feel it wasn't going to be somewhere good?

"Astrid, yer mother and I are too old to have anymore children and yer our only child, if you die, it'll be the end of the Hofferson bloodline." Those words bore a strange weight to them, Astrid's shoulders visibly slumped as the reality of the situation set in.

"Oh." Astrid's voice was barely heard by her parents, she hadn't even stopped to consider herself, running out into raids and risking her life without concern of her own safety or how it would affect others if anything happened to her. "I... guess I never looked at it that way, sorry for yelling mom."

"Its OK darling, you were frustrated, that's all."

"Now Astrid, we're not saying ye can't go out in raids, infact we want ye to, ya still need to play yer part in keeping the village safe, just don't let yer pride get the best of ya, remember what happened to yer uncle."

Astrid remembered that night all too well, one night a Flightmare attacked the village and Astrid, being only ten years old, planned to kill the dragon. Her uncle told her to find shelter while he handled the beast, it was a foolish mistake. The book of dragons said that the Flightmare froze its victims with fear, the Hofferson clan was also known as the _Fearless Hoffersons_ back then and her uncle thought he could slay the Flightmare because of it, he was wrong. That night Astrid had heard his screams, heard him die, that night was one of the few times Astrid had ever cried, even at a young age she was considered strong, tough, _fearless_. That night had ripped that title from them, left a stain on their family honour.

"Yeah, I remember."

"Good, now eat up, after this you and yer mother are going home to change yer bandages and _you_ lass are going to get some rest, if ya want to be in next week's raid that is."

"But its not even sundown yet." Her father gave her a look that said 'do not argue with me Missy.' "Fine." Astrid huffed, she got back to her food as she thought.

If Astrid was the last Hofferson capable of producing a child, meaning she would have to get married which was something she originally never wanted, but if she didn't then the Hofferson clan would be brought to an end and it would be her fault. She didn't want to marry just any old viking, she wanted to marry a man who would respect her, love her, care for her, fight for her, not just demote her to the family baby maker.

At that moment she thought of Hiccup, he looked up to her for years so he had the respect part. She knew he felt for her, he'd even confessed. He would've been the chief if he'd stayed so he could provide for her. But he lacked one quality, he couldn't fight, sure he used to make swords and axes and other various weapons but he could never use them, ironic really.

He did have other qualities though, he always liked inventing things and from time to time she even found it kind if adorable, he could be funny with his sarcasm and witty comebacks, and his determination, even when everyone doubted him he would still try, no matter how many times he was pushed down, yelled at or bullied he would keep on trying, it was admirable really.

But he was gone now, they hadn't heard from him in two years so he could very well be dead, even if he came back he would be considered a traitor for abandoning his own people. But if he did come back she would welcome him with open arms, after all it was the villages fault for looking down on him for most of his life, but it was her fault for driving him to the point that he felt he had to leave. If Hiccup ever came back she would beg for his forgiveness, she didn't care what would become of her fearless reputation, she just wanted to give him what he should have had the whole time, a _friend_.

Astrid made a mistake and now she had to live with what she had done, he'd finally earned the respect of his people and what does she do, she goes and breaks his heart because she was jealous and didn't want to share the spotlight.

Then she realised this had been because a moment of weakness, the very thing she hated him for and she covered it up with anger and accusations of cheating, she was weak and she paid the price in a way she never could have imagined. Then the night she was almost killed by that Timberjack, she froze because she panicked, because she was weak. Her uncle died because he was paralyzed in fear of the Flightmare, he had a single moment of weakness and he died for it.

All of her suffering had been caused by her weakness, _her's._ If she continued down this path of weakness then she would share his fate, if she was weak then she would die and the Hofferson would be no more. Her father's words echoed in her mind, _'if you die, it'll be the end of the Hofferson bloodline.'_

Now Astrid would have to make a choice, to save herself and to secure her family's future then she couldn't be weak anymore, she would stomp out any weaknesses she could find in herself until she was no longer weak.

'No more weakness.' Astrid thought to herself while she tore away a chunk of mutton from the bone.

 **Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, next chapter something _interesting_ is going to happen MWAHAHAHA. Anyway you can leave a review and if you give me an idea for the story I might use it, but I'll give credit where credit is due of course. Goodbye for now.**


	5. To be a Man

**I am soooooo sorry this took so long, but to fix this issue I'm going to be shortening the chapters from now on. Hope everyone enjoys the chapter.**

Chapter Five: To be a Man

That time had come once again, the yearly meeting of the chiefs of the Archipelago and this year it was being held on Berk. The chiefs of the five other tribes of the Archipelago stood in the center of the Great Hall: Big Boobied Bertha, chief of the Bog Burglars tribe, Mogadon, chief of the Meathead tribe, Madguts, chief of the Murderous tribe, Magnus, chief of the Shivering Shores and Dagur the Deranged, chief of the Berserkers.

It had been three years since his only son Hiccup disappeared and ever since dragon raids had been increasing in size and frequency. Berk used to bear the brunt of the raids but now every single Viking tribe in the Archipelago suffered dragon attacks as bad as Berk did three years ago, if not worse. Now the meeting was coming to a close, battle strategies had been discussed, alternate trade routes had been set, but one more matter arose, one that Stoick had been trying to avoid being brought up.

"Stoick, we've noticed ya still haven't chosen a new heir for tha Hooligan tribe." Mogadon piped up.

"Yes I know tha Mogadon, but things have gotten... complicated since then."

"Complicated how?" Bertha joined in on the conversation.

"Well the girl I was going to announce as the new heir has gone a tad... over the edge shall we say." The recent events surrounding Astrid had really unsettled the village.

Now it was Madguts' turn to get involved. "What, ya mean she's gone mad!"

"No, she hasn't gone mad, as you all know last year Astrid suffered a life threatening injury which resulted in her being unconscious for a few weeks, but since then she's been more volatile than usual."

"So she's caused trouble in tha village before?" Bertha offered.

"No, she was never a trouble maker, she was a good kid and was the best fighter of her age, still is too. Though not long after last years meeting one of tha boys her age tried to sway her and it didn't go so well for him." Now Dagur cut in.

"Oh, oh, let me guess, it was the Jorgenson. Snothat was it?"

"Snotlout, and yes it was him. Astrid hit the boy so hard she dislocated his jaw."

"Serves him right, tha way he treats women is appalling." Bertha butted in.

"Get to tha point Stoick, what's this all about." Madguts bellowed. He never was one for patience.

"My point is Madguts, that its not only Snotlout she's being more aggressive with. If just about anyone looks at her the wrong way she lashes out at them. So I'm afraid that she isn't fit for leadership over the tribe." Stoick finished.

"So what about the others her age, surely one of them would be fit to lead." Bertha suggested.

"I don't think so, Fishlegs is smart and would be able to run the village but he cracks under pressure and he'd never hold up in fight, Snotlout's too cocky for his own good and don't even get me started on the Thornston twins."

The Chiefs sat in silence for a few moments until Magnus spoke up. "You could wait a couple of years, see if the next generation have what it takes, tha or ya could see if Hiccup returns, he did say in his letter that he would come back."

Madguts slammed his fist down onto the table, he had called Hiccup a disgrace even before he left his tribe and now he had ever more reason to do so.

"That twerp was never a viking and never will be! Why do ye insist tha we wait for him to come back, in fact why do we even believe he is coming back, he ran away because he was a COWARD-"

"THATS ENOUGH MADGUTS! IF YE CAME LOOKING FOR A FIGHT THEN YE'LL FUCKING GET ONE, OTHERWISE YE CAN TAKE YER LEAVE!" Stoick's voice echoed across the walls, threatening to deafen the other chiefs present. Madguts gave him a long hard stare before he got up and stormed out of the Great Hall, his guards waiting for him on the other side of the massive doors.

Stoick fell back into his seat with a huff. "Anyone else got anything to share?" He said in a voice far too calm for the situation he was just in. A moment passed before Dagur answered.

"Actually I have something to share, but its going to sound a bit crazy."

"Dagur, every time ye have something to say its crazy."

"I'll just pretend I didn't hear that. Anyway, one month ago we got reports of ships going missing, the ships we not armed, they would be carrying resources. I sent out two ships to safeguard a trading ship to its destination, but only one of them returned with half the crew. At first I didn't believe the things they were saying but..." Dagur trailed off.

"What are ye talking about Dagur, what were they saying?"

"They said... they were attacked by a dragon, one none of them recognised."

"It was just one dragon, why didn't ya just kill it, plain and simple."

"That wasn't all Stoick, apparently someone was riding the damn dragon, controlling it-

Bertha stood up from her seat and interrupted him. "What! That's lunacy, no one can control those beasts, I say ye've finally gone off the deep end Dagur."

"Gone off the deep- WHAT! YOU- I KNOW WHAT I SAW SO DON'T TELL ME I'M CRAZY!"

"Enough, the both of you, Dagur are ye sure this is what ye saw?"

"YES!"

"Really Stoick! Yer listening to this yak crap!"

"As hard as it may be to believe, I have seen this before, many years ago." Stoick recalled the horrific events of that night and the stranger who showed up to a meeting of the chiefs uninvited.

 _"I alone can control the dragons."_

They all laughed at him, if they had considered his offer then the war between the dragons and vikings might have ended.

 _"See how well you do without me!"_

Moments after he left dragons burned the building to it's foundations, Stoick was the only one to escape the fire alive.

"Stoick, what do ye mean ye've seen this before and why was none of us told about it?" Mogadon was just as confused as the rest of them.

"Almost thirty years ago now a man by the name of Drago Bludvist showed up at a meeting of the chiefs. He said he could control the dragons, told us he'd get them off our backs for good if we bowed down to his new empire. We laughed at him, called him a madman, a fool. He said we would regret our decision, something about seeing how well we would do without him, mere seconds after he left dragons burned the Great Hall to the ground, I was the only one to escape the fire." All the chiefs sat in solemn silence.

"So, anyone got any ideas on how we deal with this new problem?" Mogadon asked.

"We kill 'em on sight, just like we would any other dragon." Stoick answered.

"Actually I would like to question this dragon rider myself, I hear he or she had something to do with the death of my father Oswald. So bring them to me alive if you can."

"Alright Dagur, we'll do what we can. Anyone else have anything too add?" There was a moments silence at the table. "Good. well then everyone, till next year."

All the chiefs of every tribe left the table and headed for the port to go back to their islands for another year. Another year and Stoick still had no word on Hiccup, the chief wanted to believe his son would return one day, but as the years passed his hope had drained away.

Stoick had lost everything, his wife, his son and now he was at a loss for who would be the next chief of Berk. All he could think of was how much he missed his son, it had been that way for the past two and a half years, first he was furious with Hiccup but as time went on and the grieving process took its course he came to miss his son no matter his past mistakes.

He stared out into the orange, sunset sky and just stood at the top of the steps to the Great Hall, thinking about his son, really thinking. It would be Hiccup's eighteenth birthday tomorrow, if he were still on Berk there would be a massive party in the Great Hall with tables decked with food and barrels filled to the brim with mead, speaking of which his son would probably be having his first hangover the morning after, Stoick remembered his first hangover and his dads reaction.

"Son, if there were ever a perfect time for ye to come home, it'd be now." He whispered softly to himself.

* * *

 **Forest**

 **Traders Port**

"Happy birthday Hiccup!" Khaine congratulated. Today was Hiccup's eighteenth birthday and they had returned to the training port to celebrate. They had returned to the port earlier this year to stock up on a few things, he even paid Magnus a visit to have his sword spear tuned up, now the shaft and the guard were metal, not wood. Even the blade needed replacing, sharpening the weapon that you rely on in battle with a rock can only take you so far.

Toothless warbled his happy birthday to Hiccup

 _*Happy day-of-birth to you Hiccup, you are eighteen winters old today.*_

"Hey thanks guys, but I'm just gonna say I don't want a repeat of last year, ya hear me. I mean we barely escaped those hunters with our lives."

"Alright we get it, no fireworks. Besides, I've got another idea."

"Oh, and what would that be?"

"Well back in Farrenheim when someone turns eighteen it was seen as a coming of age, when a boy finally becomes a man."

"Yeah?" Hiccup was honestly lost as to where Khaine was going with this.

"Well the coming of age comes with a few _benefits_."

"What kind of benefits?"

"Alcohol, getting your own place... and a few women if your lucky." Khaine whispered the last part to Hiccup in a very sly manner and the two of them burst with laughter while Toothless sat with head cocked to the side, confused as to what they were laughing at.

 _*What are you two finding so funny. Is it one of those human jokes again, I never understand them.*_

"What makes you think I'm gonna try and land a girl just because its my eighteenth birthday?"

"Why not, its your choice to do what you want with your life. Why not make the most of it?" Khaine reasoned.

"I believe that when the right moment comes, I'll find the person I want to settle down with and- wait, what was the point of this conversation again?" This question caught Khaine unawares and set his train of though back on track.

"Oh right, I was going to suggest you go into town and get a big ol' barrel of mead and bring it out here for us to celebrate! What do ya think?" Hiccup stopped to contemplate this before answering.

"Yeah. That sounds great, but do we even have any gold left, I'm sure we've spent it all already."

"Don't worry, got it covered." Khaine tossed Hiccup a small pouch of gold coins. "Don't spend it all, its the last we have."

"Got it. I'll go right now and we'll have the party underway as soon as I get back." Hiccup picked up his cloak and headed for the port. "Bye Khaine, see ya Toothless."

"Bye."

 _*Bye.*_

* * *

 **Traders Port**

Hiccup strolled through the streets of the port in his pitch black cloak and hood, earning strange glances from passers by and people turning onto different streets just to avoid him. It was only a couple of minutes before sun down so a man walking around in a black cloak at night would give people a pretty good reason to stay away.

It didn't take Hiccup long to find the local inn, it was called Sailors Paradise, a fitting name, some sailors would be away from home weeks or sometimes months at a time, away from their families, they would relish a good drink after being away for so long. Hiccup walked into the inn and almost instantly he was getting stares from people all around. He stopped at the bar where the bar tender was polishing a mug.

The bar tender gave Hiccup a sceptical look. "Can I get ye something ta drink?"

"Do you happen to have any barrels of mead for sale do ya?" Hiccup asked masking his voice in a deep Norse accent.

"Come again?"

"Will this cover it?" Hiccup handed him the small pouch of gold coins. The man was shocked when he looked in the bag, it was probably more gold than he had ever seen at one time.

"Uh... I'll look out back see what I can get ya." The bar tender hurried through a doorway behind the counter to go get his mysterious customer what he wanted. Minutes passed and Hiccup wondered if the bar tender had gotten lost back there, he didn't want to have to steal one but he'd be damned if he didn't get what he paid for.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to steal one after all." He was about to leave when a loud crash erupted from the other end of the bar.

"WHAT THE BLEEDIN' HELL DID YE JUST SAY TO ME BITCH!" A big hulking brute of a viking flipped a table and proceeded to yell at a going woman who looked like she had been serving them.

"I called you a disgusting old pig, ye think its acceptable to just grab women whenever ya feel like it, this is a bar not a brothel, so ye can leave now or we can get the town guard in here and see what they have to say, your choice." The man went a deep red scarlet at such an accusation, either out of anger or embarrassment.

"What- you- I- HOW DARE YA ACCUSE ME OF SUCH AN ACT YE LITTLE SHIT! I SHOULD RUN YA THROUGH RIGHT NOW!"

"OH REALLY, WHATS STOPPING YOU!"

The vikings tone turned low and murderous. "Good point, maybe I will!" He grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt and lifted her of the ground.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" The girl warned.

"And why not?"

"You really think these people are gonna stand for this, you hurt me and this bar becomes a fucking warzone, ya hear me!"

"Well then, let's see if they do." He waved to a table farther back and two more vikings armed with weapons came and stood at his side. "Anyone wanna save this little brat, anyone wanna be a hero!" No one dared move, instead they all sunk back into their seats, clearly these men had a fearsome reputation and everyone knew it.

Hiccup couldn't just sit idly anymore, he had to step in. He started a fast walk to the other end of the bar, all eyes were on him once again. "Well lookie here, we've got ourselves a vigilante folks."

"Hiccup's voice dropped down low and cold. "Let the girl go and none of you have to get your asses handed to you."

"Or what, there's three of us and one of you, you're not even armed."

Hiccup took off his cloak and set it down on the counter, revealing his face to everyone present, he just hoped no one recognised him as the lost heir of Berk. "Let. Her. Go."

The three men just laughed at him and the leader made a high pitched mocking voice. "Oh no, little fishbone's gonna teach us a lesson." Hiccup was done listening to them, he made a move towards them.

"Alright I've had enough, take care of this little piss ant!" The two armed men charged Hiccup, a sword wielder on the left and an axe wielder on the right, but he was ready.

The swordsman reached him first and swung for his head, Hiccup ducked the blow and tripped the man sending him hurtling into a table. The axe wielder tried an overhead swing that Hiccup simply side stepped then landed a punch to his face and kicked him in the side, then Hiccup span on the spot and his heel connected with the viking's head, rendering him unconscious. The first viking was back on his feet and making his way towards Hiccup, he thrust his sword forward only to jam it into the counter, the boy's reflexes were far too sharp. Hiccup kicked the backs of the vikings legs, sending him to his knees then he slammed the man's face into the iron butt of the sword with a resounding crack, giving him a broken nose and knocking him out cold.

Only the leading viking remained. "DON'T THINK YE'VE WON, I'VE STILL GOT THE GIRL! YE LET ME GO AND SHE GOES FREE, TRY ANYTHING AND I KILL HER!" Hiccup had no choice, he wouldn't be able to reach her in time if he tried to attack.

"Alright, go. But if I ever see you again I will kill you!"

The guy let her drop and bolted through the door into the night. Hiccup stared after him, partly wishing he could have smashed his teeth in.

"You saved me!" The girl hugged him around the middle making him jump slightly.

"Uh you're welcome." She let go and looked up at him with beautiful brown eyes, now Hiccup realised he was talking to a cute girl and his nerves came flooding back.

"Well I- uh yeah I've got to- gotta go so-" Hiccup was about to go when she took hold of his hand.

"Don't go just yet, I still haven't thanked you yet."

"Uh no need to thank me, just uh- just doing my part but I've- I've really gotta go-" Hiccup tried to get away but she still had a firm grasp of his hand.

"Come on, just stay for a few drinks 'ey, please." Hiccup probably could've worked his way out of the situation somehow but she looked genuinely upset that he was going to leave.

"OK but just for one drink."

Half an hour passed and Hiccup was still talking to this girl he now knew was called Dahlia. The bar tender had given him free drinks for the night as thanks for saving Dahlia's life. Hiccup had downed two mugs of mead already and was working his way through a third.

If only he knew when to stop, now Hiccup was spouting on about his adventures with Khaine and Toothless.

"So Toothless is a dragon that you named and Khaine is a revenant from the underworld, hand picked to guide you towards your destiny?" Dahlia was taking in everything he was saying, luckily she thought it was all just a story formed from the mind of a drunken young man.

"Toothless issssn't just an- any dragon, he's a NIGHT FURY!" Hiccup waved his arms around in his drunken stupor, some others who were just as drunk as he was jumped and fell from their chairs at the familiar yet terror inflicting mention of such a beast.

"Ooooh a night fury, I've heard of that dragon, they say its scales are as black as night and it never misses its target, is it true." Dahlia was playing along with his little fairytale at this point, as ridiculous as it was it was very amusing.

"YEAH! Wait the- the first one or... uh... w- wait why are we talking about this again?

"Hahahaha! You're so silly!"

"I'm not ssssssilly! I'm awesome, I kicked those guyses asses all the way down ta Nifelheim!" Hiccup threw a fist in the air, cheering himself on apparently while the surrounding drunken men and women cheered with him. Dahlia came round the table to sit on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Has anybody ever told you how handsome you are?" Dahlia asked while caressing his jaw that had grown a lot of stubble as of the last few months.

"Uh d-duh no, no one has ever said that to me actually." Despite his drunken state, Hiccup's mood had dropped now that he was thinking about all those times he tried to win Astrid's affection only to come up short and be pushed away.

"Aw don't be upset, I think you're handsome."

"Yeah thanks but I don't think I'm cheering up any time soon, I should probably just leave." Before Hiccup could stand up out of his chair, or try to anyway, Dahlia pulled his face towards her and before he even registered this she was kissing him, _she_ was kissing _him_ , a beautiful young woman was kissing _Hiccup_. He hardly had any time to kiss back before she broke away from him.

"Still wanna leave?" She teased him

"I uh... guess I could stay a little while longer." A small mischievous smirk was growing on Hiccup's face.

"Good, because I've just thought of something _special_ we can do together."

"Lead the way milady." Dahlia took Hiccup by the hand and dragged him up a set of stairs not far from their table, Hiccup stumbled most of the way but managed to make it to the stairs without falling over. The bartender watched from across the room, knowing no doubt what they were up to.

"Well, guess I could hold onto this for him til tha mornin'."

* * *

 **Tavern**

 **The next morning**

Hiccup woke up the next morning with a pounding headache and slight nausea, his vision was blurred when he first opened his eyes but soon they adjusted. When his vision cleared the first thing he saw was a wooden ceiling and the first rays of morning light shining through the window.

Hiccup turned onto his other side to try and get some more sleep, then his face came into contact with something soft and silky, it smelled sweet but had a distinct hint of body odour. He opened his eyes to find a mop of blonde hair on his pillow. WAIT. Hair?

Hiccup then noticed he had his arm wrapped around something warm, he looked down and saw a woman laying next to him, but one particular detail made his heart stop for a moment, they were both **_naked_**. Hiccup's face turned bright red, he'd done it, he'd actually gone and done it.

This situation had disaster written all over it, if he'd gotten her pregnant he would be tied down for life, he'd be forced to marry and he'd be lucky to ever see anyone from Berk ever again or even Toothless. If he just walked away from this he would be a monster and he'd wouldn't be able to live with himself. What if her father found out, he would be a dead man, that's if the woman herself didn't beat him to it.

"Oh dear Thor, Khaine and Toothless are never gonna let me live this down." Just as he spoke Dahlia was waking up, Hiccup prepared himself for the bombardment of abuse he was about to receive.

"Morning handsome." Her voice was barely above a whisper, she was probably just groggy from being asleep.

"Uh-hi I um- I- so-so we um... Yeah." Hiccup tried his best to look casual but it clearly wasn't working.

"What? Don't you remember what happened last night?" She had a cheeky smile on her face.

"Uhhhhhhhhhh..." Hiccup's face cringed inwards, he was too embarrassed to even say the word.

"Oh don't be like that, we had fun, a _lot_ of fun." Dahlia shuffled over to his side of the bed and hugged him, Hiccup felt even more awkward being able to feel her breasts against his side.

"So you're um... not mad?" Dahlia laughed at his absurd question.

"Why would I be mad, _you_ gave me a night to remember." She said gently drawing circles on his chest with her fingernail.

"B-but what if I-" She quickly silenced him with a deep but brief kiss.

"Don't you go worrying about that, I drink my maidens tea every morning just in case something like this happens, not that I didn't want this to happen or anything."

"Uh, OK that's good, but I've really got to get going." Hiccup tried to wriggle his way out of bed and to the door, but Dahlia pulled him closer and wrapped her legs around his right one.

"Where are you going, off to go find your dragon friend?" Hiccup's entire body stiffened, and not in a good way.

"Wait, wait, dragon friend?"

"Do you seriously not remember anything about last night?"

"Uh no, no I don't."

"Well you told me about your dragon friend, Toothless I think you called him, and the big guy, Khaine, all mighty champion of the underworld, you have quite the imagination when your drunk."

"I do? Yeah I do. Hehehe." Now he was laughing awkwardly, could this get any worse?

"I know that laugh, why are you so nervous?"

"Uh w-well this... has never happened before, no one's ever been remotely interested in me, I never even had any friends back home."

"What? Look at you. You're a woman's dream come true, you're strong, you're handsome, caring, and you respect women." Dahlia came close and whispered in his ear. "And between you and me, you're pretty good in bed too." They both chuckled softly, Dahlia noticed Hiccup's laugh was genuine this time, but she didn't want to tell him and have him go straight back to square one.

"Yeah well I didn't always look like this ya know, I used to be small, skinny, everyone made fun of me because I couldn't even raise a sword."

"Well, I bet you could do that now, you could go back and kick their asses."

"Dahlia, can you keep a secret."

"Uh, yeah sure."

"I... I ran away from home three years ago, and I was heir to the tribe, if I go back now what are they going to think of me."

"Oh... well that... complicates things."

"Yeah, it does. But I will go back, some day."

"But you said-"

"I know what I said, but I left a note for my father before I left saying that I would return some day. Will go back one day, not any time soon, but one day." The two sat in silence for a minute before Dahlia decided to break the tense atmosphere.

"Well this has really killed the mood."

"Yeah... I'm just gonna go if that's OK with you." Hiccup was about to get up and leave when-

"Wait." Dahlia grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Um, OK."

"I can't let you leave knowing you're alone and unhappy."

"Look Dahlia, I can't take you with me."

"I'm not asking to go with you, I'm asking how I can make you feel better."

"Listen, I know you're just trying to help but something like this I need time to get over, not much is gonna make me smile now." Hiccup turned over and stared blankly at the wall.

"I can think of one thing."

"Oh really, and what would tha-" as Hiccup turned over to look at her again she embraced him in a passionate kiss and dragged him back towards her. Just like that, Dahlia had won him all over again.

* * *

Hiccup walked through the port with a content smile adorning his face, he still couldn't believe what had happened, he'd actually had a one night stand, sort of. This was like something he would dream about when he lived back on Berk, there were times he feared he would never find anyone who loved him and that he would die alone, everything that had happened in the past three years had changed his perspective completely, and he was all the happier for it.

Hiccup was snapped out of his thoughts when a bird flew right past his face. He looked in the direction from which it came and saw a stall with a sign above it saying "Air mail".

"Air mail?" Send a bird to deliver a message, but how would someone train a bird, they where but simple creatures unlike dragons. But maybe they weren't, maybe he just didn't understand them, just like vikings didn't understand dragons, he walked up to the stall to find out more.

A young woman was stood behind the stall, she regarded him with a warm smile. "Anythin' I can help ya with sir?"

"So these birds can deliver a message anywhere and they will come straight back here, how does that work exactly?"

"Well, each bird is trained to go to a different island in the Archipelago and back, it can take a few days depending on how far the message is going, also its still kind of a 'work in progress' so the bird will fly to the right island but it doesn't always find the right person."

Hiccup wasn't entirely listening to her however, he was thinking about Berk. If he just showed up out of the blue years after running away he would probably be killed on sight for outright treason, he needed to maintain a small connection with them so he could stay in their good books, sort of.

"Could I send a message to Berk?"

"Of course, would ya like me to write it for you?"

"No thanks, I'd rather write it myself." She handed him a stick of charcoal and a piece of paper. Hiccup hoped is father would get this message.

 _Adressed to Stoick the Vast, Chief of the Hairy Hooligan tribe of Berk_

 _Hey dad, I know its been a few years since I left and I know you probably still hate me for leaving, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm OK._

 _The past few years have been tough but I've found a couple of friends to watch my back, a rare thing to come across when your on the run and I've found more than a few ways to keep my pockets full._

 _I know you're probably wondering where I am and when I'll be back, truth is I don't know when I'll be back and I can't tell you where I am now, but don't worry, I promise one day I will come back to Berk, if you'll have me back._

 _Love from your son_

 _Hiccup_

"Hope this works." Hiccup gave the letter over to the woman.

"That would be one gold piece please."

"Huh, oh right." Hiccup dug around in his pockets and found what so happened to be his last gold piece. "Here."

"Thank you." She opened one of the cages and pick out a bird to send the message with, she clamped both the birds wings with one hand while she tied the note to its foot with the other. She released the bird and it shot forth into the sky, becoming a faint dot in the distance. "That should find its way to Berk in a couple days."

"Well thank you for your help."

"No problem, bye." She waved goodbye and Hiccup waved back as he headed back in the direction of the camp.

* * *

Hiccup made it back to camp and found no one there.

"Hello, anyone here." Hiccup heard a rustle in the bushes and as soon as he turned around he was tackled to the floor and covered in saliva.

 _*Hiccup where were you? You were gone all night and you made me worry.*_

"Toothless come on bud, you know that doesn't wash out." Hiccup was wringing his hands to get the sticky saliva off.

 _*I know, that's the idea.*_

Before Hiccup had the chance to stand back up, Toothless laid down on top of him, pinning him to the dirt.

"Ow! Hey come on Toothless knock it off. Look I'm sorry for being gone all night, I was... uh... preoccupied, now can you please get off me so can go find Khaine.

 _*Fine, but you owe me a lot of cod for making me worry so much."_ Toothless sat back on his hind legs to let Hiccup back up, though he had to stretch his back out from having been sat on by a several hundred pound dragon.

"Well look who decided to drop by." Khaine emerged from the tree line with two big baskets full of fish. "So where were you when we were here waiting for you to come back. I mean I had to hold Toothless down to stop him from taking off into the port to look for you." Now Hiccup felt guilty, he hadn't even thought about them getting worried about him, mainly because he was drunk. Now Khaine was going to shout at him like whenever he did something wrong.

"Hiccup what do we always talk about?" And so began the usual lecture of Khaine explaining to Hiccup why they had to stay hidden from society and Hiccup would usually just ignore him, as much as Khaine tried to make him listen.

"Khaine you don't have to sit me down and have this talk _every_ time I do something you don't like."

"Its not about what I like Hiccup, its about staying safe. For all you knew there could've been someone waiting for who could've attacked you."

"Khaine no one was going to be waiting for me, I've been 'missing' for three years, it would been impossible for anyone to track me down. Besides, two guys picked a fight with me at the bar and I kicked their asses, its not like I'm going to be outmatched if anyone does jump me."

Khaine huffed. "Oh great, now we're gonna have the town guard out searching for us!"

Hiccup's head still hurt from the hangover and Khaine's loud voice was not helping. "Khaine can you keep your voice down, I have a headache."

"How much did you have to drink?"

"Uh... I don't exactly know."

"I suppose you woke up in the back alley or something."

Hiccup, remembering where and who he woke up with, started blushing as an image of Dahlia naked planted itself in his head. Hiccup was praying to every deity he could think of that Khaine didn't notice, Khaine was good at reading people and if he saw him blushing he would quickly put the pieces together and find out what had happened.

Unfortunately the gods were not smiling on him today.

First Khaine's eyes widened, then a smile crept across his face. Hiccup knew he'd figured it out.

"N-no no, stop, its not what you're thinking!"

"Hahahaha! Oh yes it is. You got lucky last night, its written all over your face!" Hiccup's face turned a dark shade off red.

"Alright fine! Maybe I... slept with someone I met at the bar, she was very uh... grateful when I saved her from some guys trying to hurt her. We had a few drinks and things kinda took off from there."

"Well I say you got more than you bargained for, hahaha!" Now that Hiccup was thoroughly embarrassed, Khaine walked over to Hiccup and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"But I'm proud of you, you're not a boy anymore, you're a man now. You have to make your own decisions and learn to accept the consequences that come with them, and that applies to you more than most, one day you will have to rise above all others, to protect the world from those who wish to destroy it. You Hiccup will grown to be a great man." Khaine was always a hardy, disciplined and harsh person, but he could be very caring and inspirational when it counted.

"Wow uh thanks Khaine that's-"

"Which reminds me, if you're gonna save the world then you need to keep up with your training." And the mood dropped like a rock.

"Aw come on, I've still got a headache."

"And now you learn to accept the consequences." Toothless laughed at Hiccup.

 _*Haha, have fun training. I'll be here laying in the sun if you need me.*_

"I don't know why your laughing Toothless, you have to train as well, Hiccup can't save the world on his own now can he."

 _*But I was just starting to enjoy my day off.*_ Toothless gave Khaine a pair of adorable puppy eyes to try and persuade him to let him off.

"Nice try Toothless but that trick won't work on me, now get to it, we don't have all day." Toothless stood up from his relaxing position on his back with his ears flattened.

 _*Fine, but only so Hiccup can't call me a lazy reptile again.*_

* * *

 **Berk**

 **Four days later**

It had been a long day at the forge for Gobber, he was just closing up shop and every bone in his body ached.

"Am gettin' too old fer this." Ever since the raids started getting worse Gobber's work load had been getting bigger, his old body just couldn't keep up anymore. He'd thought about talking to Stoick about getting a new apprentice but that would mean he would have to clear out Hiccup's old things, he treasured those things, from his ludicrous inventions to his amazingly detailed drawings, these things hardly anyone appreciated about the boy even after he went missing.

But the needs of the village outweighed the need for a few dusty old projects.

"Hope Stoick's in a talkin' mood." Gobber hobbled his way over to the chief's house and up the steps to knock on the door.

"Stoick, ye in, I wanted to talk to ye 'bout ma work in tha forge." Stoick opened the front door, Gobber immediately saw that the chief's cheeks were all red and puffy, tears ran streams down his face.

"Stoick, are ye alright."

"I've never been happier Gobber." Stoick held out a piece of paper to him. "Its from Hiccup."

The blacksmith's eyes were fixed on the letter from that point on until he finished reading it, by that point Gobber was crying as well.

"He's alive?" He couldn't believe it, he'd almost given up hope that he was still alive and now here was proof that he was still out there somewhere.

"He's alive." Stoick invited Gobber in and they cried and discussed what was written in the letter, but they were both over the moon that after all this time when they had sought closure they were granted salvation.

"Ah don't believe it Gobber, three years and he's been out there braving the world."

"Ah know Stoick, tha's the fifth time tonight ye've told me."

"And these friends he's talkin' 'bout, who are they?"

"Ah don't know, but they've probably been keepin' him outta all sorts ah trouble."

"It would've been his eighteenth birthday last week, he would've become a man and I wasn't there to watch ma boy grow up."

"Ah wouldn't worry Stoick, if he's anythin' like how I was at tha age he would've definitely _enjoyed_ himself, haha."

"But tha last part 'will you have me back'?"

"Will ye Stoick?" Stoick look at Gobber as if he were speaking a different language.

"What?"

"Will ye have him back?"

"Gobber, ah prayed to every god ah could think of tha ah would see him again, I'd do anything just to hold him in ma arms again, if course I'd have him back." The two aged men sat in silence until it got late and Gobber had to head back home, both of them slept soundly knowing that the boy they had missed for three years was safe and well.

 **That will be all for a while, feel free to leave a review if you so wish, until next time.**


	6. Things yet to Come

**Here's another chapter for you guys, hope you enjoy.**

Chapter Six: Things yet to Come

High on a mountain top, on the northeastern border of the Archipelago, two warriors unlike any viking had seen before were about to spar. Little did either of them know that the outcome of this duel would signify something greater, something that would see them to the end of one journey... and begin another.

"Ready Hiccup?"

"Yeah, ready to beat you into the ground." Hiccup had grown a fair deal in the past year, it was the beginning of summer and he had already hit two growth spurts, one in the month following his eighteenth birthday and another in the new year. Back on Berk Hiccup was a measly five-foot four inches tall, now four years later he was six feet tall.

The past four years had been good to Hiccup, his jawline was showing the beginnings of a beard, stubble growing unevenly on his chin. His hair was much the same as it had been, but the back and sides were an inch and a half longer, reaching down to the base of his neck. Hiccup had been doing daily exercises, Khaine told him this would make him stronger, and it did. His muscles were very defined, something not common amongst the vikings of the Archipelago, Khaine said he looked like a centurion of mighty Rome, only smaller and paler. Berk had only heard stories about Rome and its armies, vast legions led by implacable heroes of bronze and gold, if they ever came in contact with the Archipelago then the vikings could only pray for the wellbeing of their homeland.

"Well you were very close last time, lets see if you can do any better this time." Khaine adapted a fighting stance, holding one of his swords vertically on his right side in a two handed grip.

"Oh you bet I can." Hiccup held his sword spear in his left hand at the top of the shaft with the lower half parallel to his left arm, pointing it at Khaine.

The two began circling, ready to strike if an opening presented itself, yet they kept a defensive stance in case the opponent tried to strike first. They were a good few meters apart, any normal warrior would have taken at least a couple of seconds to cross the distance, but Khaine bolted from his position, swinging in a wide arc, Hiccup ducked the blade and lunged forward for the counter attack, but his spear was thrown aside when it got caught on Khaine's back swing.

Hiccup was thrown off balance by the blow, stumbling backwards. Khaine reached for Hiccup with his free hand, Hiccup had seen Khaine do this more than once, this was his game changer. Not many were able to match Khaine in melee combat, in fact Hiccup had only seen him use it against him, but Khaine's ludicrous strength and deceptive agility meant he could strike a near fatal blow out of nowhere or grab them and throw them off their feet. Hiccup wasn't about to be beaten that easily, Hiccup let himself fall backwards and rolled back onto his feet whilst striking an upwards slash, cutting into his palm of his hand.

Now was Hiccup's chance, he wound up a swing from the left side and Khaine positioned his sword to parry accordingly, but at the last moment Hiccup leapt towards him and struck him square in the forehead with the pommel of his spear. Khaine was knocked back a couple of paces allowing Hiccup to knock one foot out from under him,sending him to one knee.

Finally, Hiccup had beaten Khaine in one on one combat, he couldn't wait to see the look on his face. As he aimed the blade end of the spear at Khaine's neck, a big meaty fist gripped the haft his weapon, Khaine looked up at him with a smug grin. Hiccup could let him make a comeback now, he sent a kick aimed at Khaine's temple, but Khaine's other hand grabbed his ankle. For a fraction of a second the two combatants exchanged a glance before Khaine wrenched his spear away, then throwing Hiccup's leg upwards, flipping him backwards and landing on his front. Before Hiccup could figure out what just happened, the blade of his sword spear planted itself inches from his face. He looked up to see Khaine grasping the pommel of his spear with one hand.

"Better luck next time."

"Aw come on!" Hiccup yelled in frustration, slamming his face into the dirt. Toothless moaned, up on his perch in a tree where he had been sleeping and the fighting had woken him up.

"Why do I have to fight _you?_ Its not like I'm going to beat you anyway!"

"OK firstly, you're not going to beat me if you keep that attitude up, and second, why are you so angry about this? You've always been a good sport for the years I've known you."

"You keep wanting for me to fight you, as if you want me to eventually beat you. But how can I? Your immortal, your stronger and faster than anyone in the world AND you have two indestructible swords that can cut through anything, so why is it so important that I beat you?" Hiccup had run himself out of breath from his little rant and was panting slightly.

"Its not about making you good enough to beat me, its about preparing you for the future. Don't forget you still have a destiny to fulfill, which by the way we have to talk about." This sudden change of topic threw off Hiccup's bad mood.

"What? Talk about?"

"Hiccup, the time has come to move forward with the next part of your destiny." Hiccup thought about those words for a moment. Next part? Did this mean he was going to have to go back to Berk? He didn't think he was ready four this just yet. What would his father say when he saw that his son was best friends with the offspring of lightning and death itself.

Hiccup sighed to himself, looking down. "Does this mean I'm going back home?" Sure he missed his father, he might not be the proudest of Hiccup right now but he was still his father. He missed Gobber too, they shared a mutual friendship while he still lived on Berk which was more than he could say for everyone else on Berk.

"No not yet, their are people we must find before we go there, they will also have a role to play in your destiny."

"Wait! Wait! Hold on. What people?"

"There's no way you can just pop up out of the blue and expect to be in everyone's good graces, which we will need by the way, we need people who are an on good terms with Berk to help them see that the dragons are not what they seem at first glance." Hiccup took a moment to think about this.

"OK, well who are they then?"

"I don't know, but I know where they are and how to find them."

"Well isn't that just convenient." Hiccup muttered under his breath.

"Hey, I don't make the rules, however time is of the essence, we must leave as soon as possible.

"OK, so we have to find people who are on good terms with dragons but also with Berk, so where do we go to find them."

"We go North, to the Murderous Mountains."

* * *

 **Berk**

On Berk, tensions were running high. With the increase in dragon attacks causing panic amongst people, some had fortified their homes that now resembled small strongholds. Planks had been nailed to the roofs of houses, blankets and tarps covered collapsed walls to keep out the cold night air, some had even used shields to board up windows.

Right now Gothi, Berk's best healer, meditating on the outlook of her hut that overlooked a cliff above the ocean. Aside from being a healer she also had another gift, the gift of foresight. It was a very rare occasion, she would go months, sometimes years between one vision and another, the last time she had a vision was last winter when she predicted a powerful storm heading towards Berk, everyone had to take shelter in the great hall, even the live stock.

This time however, her vision would be more important than ever. Images flooded her mind, she saw a boat arriving at Berk's docks, a strange man stepped of the boat, his face shrouded in darkness, a crowd gathered at the docks stared at him with disbelief, one woman in the crowd she recognised, Astrid, she was furious with the stranger. The image of Astrid faded and she now saw the stranger in Stoick's house, talking to none other than the chief himself, this man clapped his hands and the form of a dragon black as night crept down the stairs and into view.

Gothi saw the stranger riding atop the same dragon, leading Berk's ships into Helheim's Gate and emerging victorious, the village celebrating his return. She watched the half standing, beaten down houses return to their once habitable splendor as peace settled over the Archipelago.

Years passed, people changed, the stranger would become chief of the village and turn once enemies of the tribe into allies, the lives of every viking would benefit from the changes this great man would make. Now Gothi saw an encroaching darkness that would creep in from the north, an army of men and dragons alike, and at the head of this army stood a man fueled by hatred and cruelty, nothing but contempt for the world and wished to see it destroyed at the behest of his army. He and his army would wreck havoc upon the Archipelago, the new chief of Berk would ride atop his beast once more and stand against this threat.

The outcome of this battle was unclear.

The vision faded and Gothi returned to the waking world, she had to inform the chief of what she had seen. She picked up her staff and made her way outside, first she had to find the chief, but could be anywhere on the island, it would take all day to find him and that was more than her old body could handle.

She looked towards the Great Hall and saw a long line extending all the way to the bottom of the steps and beyond. Of course, it was Berk's gripe day.

* * *

 **In the Great Hall**

"No Spitelout, you can't just take half of Berk's fleet and lead an attack on the nest, we couldn't do it with tha hole fleet so what make ye think tha _you_ can do it with just half?"

"Because Stoick, we'll split up tha ships into small patrols so we can find tha nest quicker!"

"An' what if yer 'patrols' get attacked, they won't have tha supportin' fire they need."

"Then we'll put more people on tha boats!"

"An' if they get lost?"

"We'll give 'em maps too!"

"We haven't mapped Helheim's Gate Spitelout, an' even if we knew tha territory we only have two maps!"

"I thought we had four?"

"We lost one while tryin' ta map tha area, tha cartographer's ship was blown up by a zippleback, an' tha other burned to a crisp in a fire caused by tha twins!" The two teenagers in question snickered in the corner watching the argument.

"Well I didn't know tha!"

"Spitelout, even if I yes ta this ridiculous plan, we don't have enough ships ta pull it off. If ya remember tha Outcasts tried ta sabotage our fleet last Bork Week, we were able ta save most of our ships but we still lost six of 'em. Then we lost four more in last weeks raid, we only have a handful of ships left an' I will not lose any more ta another one of yer 'plans' Spitelout, I said no an' that's final! Next in line!"

"But Stoick-" Spitelout was abruptly cut off when the chief slammed his fist into the arm rest of his throne.

"That's chief ta you, _Jorgenson_! NEXT IN LINE!" Stoick's voice thundered across the walls of the Great Hall and Spitelout stormed off and flipped a table on his way out.

This must have been the worst gripe day in Berkian history, he'd only been at it for an hour and he already had a headache, and this usually went on for a couple of hours, until late afternoon. The Jorgenson's had been even more obnoxious and pigheaded than usual, the council had given Stoick an ultimatum, either he would choose a new heir to take Hiccup's place or they would vote him out of power.

Viking law stated that a council must be formed of intelligent and trustworthy people whose loyalty was to the tribe before the chief, no alliances, new laws or any other major changes that would affect the tribe could be made without the council's approval and in dire circumstances they could overrule or even vote leaders out of power if they had the people at their backs. This was to avoid tyranny of chieftains and the oppression of the people.

Then came the choice of who the next heir would be, Fishlegs might have been a good choice, he was smart and would have been capable of running the village but he wasn't brave and wouldn't hold up in battle, then their was the twins, no they would end up burning the village down by the end of the week.

Then it came between Snotlout and Astrid, Snotlout was a great fighter just like his father and at first glance he was the ideal viking chief, strong, brave, heroic, but then again he wasn't the smartest of individuals, his ego was always his drive for success and he didn't know tactics which he would need if he became chief. Astrid knew tactics like the back of her hand, she was also smart and didn't crumble under pressure, she was a brilliant fighter, a natural and the best of her age. Her only downfalls were that she had a bad temper, she didn't take anything lying down and more often than not she would react violently if someone even so much as disagreed with her, that and she was overly tough on others and scolded them for even the slightest mistake.

He knew that if he made Astrid chieftess then the village would likely turn against her and the council would vote her out anyway, at least with Snotlout he could teach him tactics and how to manage the village, Astrid was a warrior, a tactician but not a leader, Snotlout wasn't the best leader either but he would have to make due.

Stoick was startled by a tapping on the stone floor in front of him, he looked down to see Gothi, how did she get there without him seeing, she could be unnervingly stealthy sometimes. She took a small pouch and poured its contents of sand onto the stone floor and began writing in it, but writing was a strong word for it, she could draw images that could be interpreted and the person who could best do that was Gobber who was quite conveniently sitting at a table nearby.

"Gobber, can ye tell me what she's sayin'?"

Gobber hobbled over to translate what she was trying to say.

"She says she's had a vision."

"A vision of what?" Gothi didn't receive visions very often and when she did it was for a very good reason.

"She had a vision... of a stranger... that will arrive here on Berk."

"That doesn't sound good, the last stranger that arrived on Berk was... _Barnstan."_ Yurgen Barnstan was a stranger that arrived on Berk a couple of years ago and was found to be stealing from widows and old men, this garnered the wrath of Thor himself and he was struck by a lighting bolt.

"She says its not Barnstan, but she says that some people in the village might know them."

"OK I'll have to go ask some questions later, did ye see what this stranger might do?" After Gothi scribbled in the sand some more Gobber answered.

"She's sayin' tha... this stranger... rides a wagon? Is he some sort a lunatic- OW! What?" Gothi whacked Gobber on the head with her staff and pointed back to her depiction. "Oh, she says he rides a dragon. Wait! Are ye sure!" Gothi nodded.

The people lined up heard this and started panicking, Stoick needed to sort this out. "OK everyone, gripe day is canceled, everyone out of tha hall!" Now they started complaining about not getting to talk to the chief. "I SAID EVERYONE OUT! Everyone knew it would end badly if they stayed to face the chief's wrath, one by one they left until it was just Stoick, Gothi and Gobber left in the Great Hall.

"So Gothi, a stranger is going ta arrive here on Berk who has affiliations with tha dragons, correct?" Gothi nodded. "Hm... right, what else did ya see in this vision. Gothi continued to write in the sand.

"She says tha he will lead Berk's fleet into-"

"What! I will not have some dragon sympathizing mad man leading MY fleet anywhere!"

"Into Helheim's Gate atop his dragon... and will be victorious... and he will be celebrated amongst the people, ta be praised as a hero. He will be come the next chief of Berk and will bring peace during his reign." Stoick was furious just listening to this nonsense.

"I WILL NOT HAVE MY THRONE INHERITED BY AN INSANE, DISGUSTING, TRAITOROUS DRAGON LOVER WHILST BLOOD STILL RUNS THROUGH MY VEINS! IF HE WANTS IT, HE'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME AN' THA REST A BERK TA GET IT!" He had led Berk against the dragon scourge for the majority of his life, and so had his father, and his father's father. He would not have fought this war for so long and simply resign to a cease fire because of some no named nobody.

"Maybe ye should let tha old woman finish chief, we might find an answer." Stoick usually didn't take stand for people sassing him, but he did have a point. "Alright. Go ahead Gothi."

"In the coming years a darkness will come forth from tha north an' bring war ta tha Archipelago, this darkness will destroy tha Archipelago and will continue until tha world itself drowns in tha destruction it brings. Our only hope is this stranger who rides a dragon or we will all be slaughtered by this new thread- OW! OK OK, threat. By this new threat! Ya happy now. OW! OW! OW!" Gothi was currently beating Gobber over the head with her staff, Stoick could tolerate his sass but Gothi would not.

"Alright Gothi that's enough. Do ye know when this man will arrive?" Gothi shook her head. "Well that's just great, but ye said tha some people in tha village might know who he was." Gothi scribbled in the sand again.

"She's sayin'... Astrid might know, in her vision she saw tha Astrid was angry with him as soon as he arrived, as if she harboured a grudge." Now this was something the chief could work with.

"OK, so we need ta go ask Astrid some questions, see if she knows who this mystery dragon master is."

* * *

 **The Hoffersons house**

The Chief, Gobber and Gothi had just reached the Hofferson's house to speak to Astrid. Stoick knocked on the door and Brenna answered the door.

"Oh, mornin' chief, is there a problem?"

"No, we just need to talk ta Astrid, is she in?"

"Yes, she's upstairs. Has she been causing trouble again?" Brenna missed the old Astrid, the daughter she knew before she became obsessed with this perfect warrior nonsense.

Brenna walked the three of them upstairs to Astrid's room. Brenna knocked on the door. "Astrid dear, tha chief is here, he wants ta talk to ya?"

"Stoick?" Footsteps were heard and Astrid opened the door to her room. "Come in."

The group walked in and saw that Astrid's room looked primitive to say the least. The skulls of two dragons hung above her bed, one was the head of a monstrous nightmare, the same one Hiccup was supposed to kill four years ago, it was her first kill. The other was slightly bigger, two curved horns jutted out from the sides of its head and its snout was longer and thinner.

Astrid's room was not like the other girls her age on Berk, instead of any clothing racks or beauty related items there were weapons, dragon hide, books on combat styles and even a training dummy in the far corner of the room. Everyone knew she was obsessed but still, this was a bit much.

Astrid sat down on her bed with her axe resting on her lap. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Astrid, Gothi has had a vision of tha future and this vision involved you yourself."

"What? Why would I be in one of Gothi's visions?" Astrid didn't know what to say, Gothi's visions didn't happen regularly, but while those she did have visions about did sometimes have fortune and good will in store for them, others were told of tragedies that were to befall them and curses passed down by sins of relatives that were long dead.

Stoick still didn't trust this strange dragon master that was to inherit his chiefdom, but he couldn't just ignore the events detailed in Gothi's vision either, so he decided to take the middle ground on this one. "At the moment we are tryin' to identify a man tha' Gothi saw in this vision, she thinks tha' you might know who it is."

"Why would I know who it is?"

"Gothi saw you in this vision being very... aggressive towards this man, she seemed ta think ye had a grudge against him, so I need a list of people ye might have had a few misunderstandings with in tha' past."

"Well, that's a looooong list."

"I'm bringing serious Astrid, I need ta know."

"Alright fine. There's the Jorgenson family." Of course that was to be expected.

"Yer gonna have ta be more specific."

"Right, uh... there was that one Outcast that tried to drag me back to his ship by my hair." Astrid was visibly angry just for recalling that memory, and the chief couldn't blame her, after all the threats that man made against Astrid, he was asking to have his arm hacked off. Her mother was in tears after her daughter had told her that a man had threatened to rape her, but Astrid wasn't, any other girl her age would've broken down then and there, in fact it was quite disturbing how grimly calm she was afterwards.

Silence hung in the air for a moment before anything else was said.

"Then there was that girl in the market..."

"Here we go again." Gobber commented quietly.

"I mean the nerve of that girl, laughing at me because 'my hair looked funny', who does she think she is!?"

"Astrid for tha' last time, she was only nine an' she didn't know any better. Now can we please get back ta tha' matter at hand?" Astrid's gaze fell to the floor and she gripped the wooden handle of her axe in a vice, her knuckles turning white, of course she would use it, while she didn't have respect for most of the village, she still respected the chief, without him Berk would've been destroyed a long time ago on by the dragons.

"Astrid, we need ta know who this man is, if ye think you might know who he is ye have ta tell us."

Of course Astrid knew someone else she despised, how could she forget. Hiccup Haddock, the boy who upstaged her at the thing she'd been training for since the day she could walk, who humiliated her even after his absence and made her feel sorry for in the process. But how could she tell the chief that she hated his son, and to his face no less, he'd surely punish her for it and he had good reason to do so after he heard what she said to Hiccup just before her left.

"I can't think of anyone else." It was a lie of course, there were plenty of other people she could point to, but right now she just wanted him out of her hair.

Stoick sighed, he knew she was lying, but he didn't want to press any further, lest he have to deal with yet _another_ one of her tantrums. "Alright, but ye think of anyone else, just come find me when ye have tha' time."

"Of course chief." She still didn't lift her eyes from the floor. Stoick, Gobber and Gothi left her to the rest of her day. Astrid's mind lingered on the painful memory of her argument with Hiccup that day. She still remembered every word Hiccup said to her, like they were imprinted in her head, as if she could still hear him talking.

 _"After all your teasing and taunting, time spent ostracizing me because you had nothing better to do."_

 _"I looked up to you."_

 _"I still saw you as the perfect viking."_

 _"All the hatred, the tears, the pain."_

 _"DIDN'T YOU JUST STOP AND THINK THAT MAYBE ALL I WANTED WAS TO BE YOUR FRIEND!?"_

Even as Astrid summoned the willpower to shun the voices away, one sentence still made its way to the forefront of her mind.

 _"Save it Astrid, after tomorrow you won't have to worry about me ever again."_

Tears welled in the corners of her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall, not while she still had her pride. But even after several minutes of controlled breathing to make the tears go away it didn't help to quell her thoughts.

She had denied it for so long that she'd almost started to believe it, but in the back her mind she knew that it was her anger and her jealousy that drove Hiccup away from his home, it was her fault because she ignored a boy that look up to her and spat in his face when he succeeded. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock, heir to the throne of Berk had left his home, the place he spent the past fifteen years of his life and probably died in some far off corner of the Archipelago, alone and afraid.

All because of one Astrid Hoffersons and her jealousy of the village runt.

 **It's been (almost) a year now since I started writing this story and I just want to say thank YOU the reader, just you reading this story supports me and keeps me going. I haven't gotten as far as I thought I would have by now but hey, all I can do is try. Here's to another year! And don't worry we'll be getting to the good stuff very soon. Bye for now. **


	7. Darkest of nights

**Hey everyone, now I know I promised to upload more often and you have every right to complain since its been four MONTHS, but let me**

 **I found out while a writing this chapter that I'm not good at writing romance type stuff. I kept starting over because I wasn't happy with how it turned out. So I decided to take a break from it and come back when I'm all refreshed and with a new perspective.**

 **Now I need to clear something up about Khaine and his powers. In this story the gods do exist yes, but they have realised that even they are not truly immortal, Ragnarok in norse mythology his a prophecy of the end of the world, but in this story the gods have foreseen that they will be wiped out and Midgard will be the only world left intact (when I say world here I mean it in the dimension sense not the planetary sense.) The problem is that religion has spread across the world and humanity is too reliant on the gods protecting them rather than doing it themselves.**

 **The God's solution to all of this is to raise champions amongst humanity to set examples for what they need to become. They can't get the message across directly because of the corrupt individuals posing as religious authority (like priests and saints) that could use this to manipulate people for their own benefit and humanity would get nowhere.**

 **There are also individuals who wish to take over or destroy the world, the gods then see an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and raise a champion to counter this threat to humanity, this way humanity is saved without the help of the gods (directly) so humanity will thank the hero instead of the gods, this way people will loose faith in the gods and have more hope in themselves.**

 **Someone also left a review about Hiccup falling in love with elf somewhere along the way. Sorry but there are no elves or anything like that in this story. This story is more like real life history but set in HTTYD universe and with gods, no fantasy races in afraid.**

 **TRIGGER WARNING! Now it's not anything to horrific, I don't even think it even goes beyond a teen rating but I thought that I should put this in here just in case. I'll put a note in the story so you know when it starts and ends.**

Chapter seven: Darkest of Nights

High up in the clouds of the northern Archipelago, Hiccup and Toothless rode toward their destination with much uncertainty. Earlier they had happened upon a fog bank, they could have waited on a nearby island for it to pass, but that would have been too easy for the duo. No they had to fly straight through it and now they were lost, all they could do was keep flying straight and hope they were still on track.

"For Thor's sake, where are we!" Hiccup was fruitlessly trying to make sense of his map, even though he knew a map was worthless if they didn't know which way they were going.

 _*I thought that thing was supposed to be helpful.*_

"Not now Toothless, finding out where we are when I can't even see clearly is hard enough as it is."

 _*And whose fault is that?*_

"you're not helping you know."

 _*Oh I know.*_

"Urgh. How are we getting out of here!" As if his prayers were answered, light streamed in from the fog ahead of them, guiding them out. Upon breaking the fog wall they were greeted by the coppery hue of the horizon and the silhouetted shape of their destination. The Murderous Mountains.

"Well, looks like we found it bud. Hasn't changed much has it?"

 _*_ _you've been here before?*_

Hiccup remembered the time his father took him to the Murderous Mountains so that he might pick up on a few things at the yearly meeting of the chiefs.

"Let's go look for somewhere to set down for the night. We can go look for this stranger in the morning." Hiccup and Toothless set up camp in a cave deep in the forest, the thick tree line and the isolated area hid them from the nearby Murderous tribe that lived on the island.

Hiccup was in the middle of setting up camp when Khaine showed up, his body highlighted in the orange glow of the camp fire. Toothless warbled a greeting to Khaine, able to distinguish him from the surrounding darkness with his superior senses. Hiccup turned to see what had caught his friend's attention, it still took him a couple of seconds before he managed to make out Khaine in the pitch darkness.

"Khaine! About time you showed up. Now you can finally explain to me in _detail_ who to is we're looking for."

Khaine moved forwards to crouch down by the fire. "Well I don't know _exactly_ who it is we are actually looking for."

"Wait! So you've dragged us all the way here, to the doorstep of one of the most dangerous viking tribes in the Archipelago, looking for some random person, and you don't even know who it is!?"

"I know roughly what they look like, that's as much as I know."

"Well that helps a bunch doesn't it? What do they even look like?"

"I can tell you that she-"

A scream from deep within the woods shattered the conversation and all three of them were on alert.

"This way!" Hiccup led the way as they ran out towards the person in danger. They ran for about a minute, the light of the camp fire had vanished behind them in the clusters of trees, until they saw a two figures struggling with one of them pinning the other to a tree. Hiccup fell into a slide and stopped behind a bush, Khaine and Toothless crept inline with him half a second later.

Upon closer inspection it didn't turn out to be some random scuffle.

 **Yeah this is the bit, just skip past the all caps part below if you don't want to read.**

A man that couldn't have been much older than Hiccup had a woman pressed up against a tree. She was desperately trying to fend him off but he easily wrestled her arms away, she was powerless to stop him.

"PLEASE STOP!"

"SHUT UP!"

"PLEASE JUST LET ME GO!"

"I SWEAR IF YE DON'T SHUT UP I'M GONNA-"

A punch sent the man stumbling back, as he tried to right himself a heel struck him in the temple. He collapsed, unmoving, with blood starting to pool next to his mouth.

Hiccup stood over the man, chest heaving, fists clenched, nostrils flared. It took several more moments to take his eyes away from him and focus on the victim of the situation. She was curled up into a ball and crying, her arms were shielding her head.

Hiccup was hesitant to do anything, he didn't know how to deal something like this. He slowly approached her, careful not to intimidate her.

"Hey..." She looked up at him, the look on her face broke Hiccup's heart, she was terrified, shaking and sniffling. She looked to him and to the man that had attacked her.

"Is... is he..." Hiccup walked over to the man and checked for a heart beat, luckily he found one.

"He's still breathing."

"Good."

"Did he hurt you?"

"My throat hurts... but other tha- than that I... think I'm fine."

"I can take you back to the village of you need me to-"

"NO! I can't go back there! They'll kill me!"

"Woah, woah, woah. Slow down. Why would they want to kill you?"

" I- I was branded a traitor by my tribe, because I defended a dragon. "

The last part of that statement hit Hiccup like a rock.

"Wait, you defended a dragon?"

" LOOK I THOUGHT IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO OK, IT WAS DEFENSELESS AND I JUST-"

"Nononono, that's great, that's amazing!"

"Wait, you thought I was right, for defending a dragon."

" yes I- I understand, I'm exactly the same, I know what dragons are really like. "

"R- really, you believe dragons are kind... just like me?" Her tone was one of disbelief, she didn't think for a second that there was someone else out there that felt the same way about dragon, yet here they were.

hiccup was about to further the conversation when he remembered the to two individuals he brought with him. He looked over to the bush that they were _still_ hiding behind.

"Ok you guys, you can stop hiding now." Toothless bounded out from behind the shrubbery with the most innocent look on his face, while Khaine stepped out slowly.

"Wh- who is that?" She pointed to Khaine. Of course he had gotten used to Khaine but she didn't know him at all.

"Oh don't worry, that's Khaine, he might look intimidating but he's quite shy around new people."

"How original." This didn't do much to dissuade her. Fortunately Toothless took an interest in her and wandered over to her side, she scratched under his chin, just where he liked it. Toothless rolled onto his back with his head in her lap, purring like an overgrown cat.

Khaine walked over to stand next to Hiccup.

"It's her."

"What do you mean it's her? "

"She's the one we came here to find."

"Wait. Her?"

"What? Did you think it was going to be someone else?"

"I just didn't think it would be that easy." Hiccup came over to see how the girl and Toothless were getting on, she was scratching his belly whilst he was rolling around in ecstasy.

"You seem to really know your way around dragons, he's usually more cautious around new people." Hiccup was still amazed that there were other people that saw dragons as friendly, intelligent creatures and not bloodthirsty monsters.

"I dunno, it just comes naturally to me I guess."

"I uh... I didn't get your name earlier."

"Ileana." She said, finally mustering the courage to look him in the eye.

"I'm Hiccup. Now I think you should come with us, there are probably people still looking for you-"

"Wait! You can fight, right!" She was suddenly panicking.

"Yeah, why?"

"The dragon that I tried to protect, the chief took him away, probably to the prison. Please help him, they'll kill him!" She was starting to break down again, crying and mumbling incoherently. Hiccup leant down to her level and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Ileana, I need you to look at me." She complied, looking into his eyes as he looked into hers, were she saw courage and determination, Hiccup saw fear and hopelessness.

"What does the dragon look like. I need to know." She took a few moments to collect her thoughts and calm down.

"Um... he looks... sort of like him, but smaller." She pointed towards Toothless.

"Wait, your dragon is a night fury?" Hiccup had thought Toothless was the only night fury left, the gods had really thought out this whole destiny thing.

"Ok, we'll go get him and bring him back, Khaine will take you to our camp site, you will be safe there."

"W-with him? " she was obviously still scared of Khaine.

"Don't worry, he's not going to hurt you, I promise." Those last two words seemed to reassure her.

"Now go with him, me and Toothless need to rescue that dragon as quickly as possible."

Hiccup hopped up on Toothless' saddle and they took off into the midnight sky, blending with it seconds after.

"Alright bud, now let's find out were these guys are keeping that night fury."

They circled the village from above, examining the different structures and patrol routes from the safety of the night sky.

"There!" Hiccup pointed to a large stone building, the windows were barred and the place was well guarded, archers lined the rooftop and armed guards stood watch at the entrance with patrols passing by every few minutes. This prison break wasn't going to be easy, but they weren't going to just up and leave because things get a little tough.

"That place is a fortress."

 _*Shouldn't be too hard for us.*_

"Well let's hope that stealth training actually comes in handy."

Hiccup had to think strategically, one false move could mean the end for both of them. They couldn't just storm in by air, the archers would definitely see them coming and alert the rest, they'd have to land somewhere nearby. The prison was a talk building, it must have had at least four different floors to the thing, they should be able to take out the two guards stationed at the door, so long as they keep it quiet.

"There's gotta be guards inside as well. Let's head down bud." The two headed to the houses were they landed in an alley out of sight. They crept their way towards the prison street by street, being mindful of any bypassing patrols.

After a few minutes they found themselves in the shadow of their target, hiding in a bush, Hiccup and Toothless watched as a patrol group passed the prison, it wouldn't be much longer before another one passed by, they'd need to get in and get out faster than originally planned.

With the shadow of the prison shielding them from the moonlight, they were able to pass through the open area to the side of the building relatively easily. With just a couple of feet between them and the guards, they could rush them, take them out quietly, and not attract too much attention.

"On my mark, 3, 2, 1." Hiccup and Toothless ran as fast towards their targets as possible, Hiccup drop kicked the first guard in the face, and Toothless rammed the other into the wall. Now that both guards were out cold, time was of the essence, they had to act quickly.

"Toothless, wait for me here, but stay hidden." Hiccup entered through the door whilst Toothless stood guard outside. Once Hiccup was inside his job got a lot harder, there were indeed multiple floors with at least ten different cells on each one, he wasn't going to have enough time to search them all. He needed a distraction.

There were no guards on the first floor and there was a monstrous nightmare in a cell to his left, an idea sprung to mind. Hiccup snuck over to the cell, the dragon noticed him immediately, eyeing him up and down with threatening glare. He saw a left over chicken bone lying on the floor and picked it up.

"Sorry boy, but I've gotta do it." Hiccup threw the bone at the dragon, whacking it in the eye. The nightmare roared loudly, alerting all of the guards. Hiccup moved to a corner and waited for the guards to come.

"What's goin' on down there!" A guard called from one of the upper floors.

"Get down there an' shut it up!" Shouted another. Guards filed down the stairs to deal with the problem. Hiccup used this chance to go up the stairs while they were distracted , our of the ruckus that filled the air, one sound in particular caught his attention, it was the call of a night fury, he couldn't mistake it, only it was much squeaker than Toothless'.

On the floor above, on the other side of the room, a dark silhouette bounded about in its cell, agitated by the sudden commotion. As Hiccup moved across the upper floor, he could hear the screams of the nightmare he had pinned the guards on, he didn't want to imagine the things they were doing to it just because they could. He felt guilty, he didn't want to put that dragon in that situation, but there was no other choice.

Hiccup shook his head free of those dark thoughts, he couldn't let himself get distracted now. He reached the cell with the night fury in it. Ileana was right, this one was a lot smaller than Toothless. It curled up in the corner of the cell when it saw him approach.

"Hey, don't be afraid little guy, I'm not here to hurt you, I'm a friend." It seemed to understand him, it edged slowly towards him, Hiccup stretched his hand out through the bars, showing his empty hand, the dragon sniffed his hand curiously. It took Hiccup a while to gain Toothless' trust but this night fury seemed to warm to him quite easily. After a few tense moments, the dragon pressed its head against his palm as a sign of trust.

"Well, that wasn't so hard now was it? Now let's get you out of here." The cell door was kept secure by a padlock and chains, not the most secure prison, but at least it made his job easier. He didn't have time to go pick pocket one of the guards for the key before the patrol showed up and found Toothless, he's have to use brute force, he unsheathed his spear and struck the chains shattering the metal and letting the remains clatter to the floor.

"Oi, what was that!?"

"Get up there an' go check it out, if tha chief finds out we let a dragon loose he'll 'ave our heads!"

He could hear the footsteps of the guards rushing up the stone steps towards them. The scared night fury curled around his legs.

"I'm sorry little guy, looks like we're fighting our way out of this one." Hiccup poised himself ready to fight, not only for his life, but the life of the new dragon in his care.

Just as the guards stormed the room, a hole was blown in the wall of the open cell, as the dust settled, Hiccup saw utter devastation.

A dragon raid had just started, houses were on fire, warriors ran in different directions to try and defend the village.

"Toothless!" At his call, Toothless burst from the bushes.

"Come on little guy, we're going for a ride." Hiccup took a running leap out of the hole, followed by the small night fury. Hiccup landed safely on Toothless' back, although slightly winded.

" Thanks for the save bud, wait where's-". The smaller night fury landed next to them with its wings flared and ready to fly.

"INTRUDERS! DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!" The alarm was raised and they needed to get out of here fast before the entire village was on their asses.

"Alright, let's get out of here! " Both night furies took off into the sky, dodging bolas and arrows as they disappeared into the night sky.

"We can't fly straight back to camp, they'll come looking for us, let's fly out towards the sea and circle around to the other side of the island."

 _*Good idea.*_

Toothless diverted his course out to sea, the cacophony of the raging battle behind them fading and eventually mixing with the clashing ocean waves.

* _Where Are we going?*_

Toothless was unable to answer for a moment, he couldn't remember ever hearing the voice of another night fury, he had vague memories of who he assumed was his mother. The youngling's voice was female, but she was also scared and confused, she was just faced with what could have been her death and forced to flee in the company of two strangers.

* _We're going to turn back and hide in the forest, your friend is there waiting for us.*_

* _You know Ileana! Is she ok?*_

 _*Yes she is. Are you hurt?*_

 _*No.*_

 _*_ _Well You don't look ok.*_

 _*I'm hungry, the bad humans didn't let me eat.*_

 _*_ _We'll get you something to eat when we get there.*_ Toothless offered a sympathetic smile which was mirrored by the hatchling.

"We should be well out of their sights by now, lets turn back Toothless."

* * *

 **At Camp**

"So that's why you're all like... "

"Yes." While Hiccup and Toothless were gone, Khaine took it upon himself to inform Ileana about who he really was, why they were here and the story of his past. That and he figured she could use something to take her mind off of her earlier ordeal.

"You said you've been to Helheim yourself, what does it look like?"

"Well if Valhalla is a reward for the brave and the innocent, then Helheim is a punishment for sinners and murderers. There's a lot of fire, magma, and the odd lost soul roaming here and there."

"If you're technically dead, does that make you immortal?"

"In a sense yes, I will live forever but I can be killed, although I'd be surprised if anyone could best me." Ileana paused for a moment before speaking again.

"Do you think they'll be back soon, they've been gone for awhile."

" That prison is probably well defended, it will take time for them to sneak in and out without being caught. " Ileana looked back towards where she knew the village was, she knew what was likely to happen to them if they where found trying to break a dragon out of it's cell.

"You're sure they'll be ok?"

"I trained Hiccup myself, it'll take more than a few 'run of the mill' guards to beat him. Oh and speaking which." Ileana followed Khaine's eyes, looking into the sky she could see two silhouettes descending towards them. One was Toothless with Hiccup on his back, the other was a much smaller night fury, almost half Toothless' size. The small dragon made a beeline for her, chirping as it tackled her to the dirt, wagging its tail in excitement.

"Hahaha, oh my thor! I never thought I'd see you again!" Ileana's eyes were tearing up again, it has been an emotional night for her, hopefully she would be ok after this.

"Di- did they hurt you!" She frantically looked the dragon over, searching for any injuries. Her response was a wet lick to the face. The dragon showed a gummy smile and bright green eyes with black pupils the size of moons. In the flickering fire light, Ileana saw a scar just under her night fury's left eye and an audible gasp escaped her lips.

"Hiccup he's hurt!"

Hiccup hadn't noticed the wound before, he got over there as quickly as he could to examine it. He took the young night fury's head in his hands and tilted it to see the scar clearly. The scar wasn't deep, there was no sign of infection and it was already healing.

"He's fine, a bit of bruising but he'll be fine, nothing to worry about."

"Thank thor, I was worried he'd been hurt, wouldn't put it past those monsters." She cast a cold gaze toward the floor while she held her friend close.

"We shouldn't stay here, they'll start sending out patrols again come morning." Hiccup said starting to pack up some of the blankets into one of the bags. A loud grumble sounded from the smaller night fury followed by a whine, the poor thing was hungry, the guards probably didn't feed him, he should've figured, why would they?

"Do you have any food?"

"Yeah, I should have some in here." Hiccup reached for a smaller satchel and took a look inside, they didn't have much left. There were there fish and a small crab, all covered in salt to keep them from rotting. He took out two of the fish and gave them to the small dragon, Toothless got the last fish, Hiccup would have to share the crab with Ileana.

 _"Why does she get more?*_

"Come on Toothless, who knows when she last ate." Hiccup skewered the crab on a long stick and started roasting over the fire. A long silence hung over them for awhile until Ileana spoke.

"So what do we do now? We can't stay here, they'll find us sooner or later."

"We'll leave in the morning, but we need to rest for the night, it's been a long day." Hiccup rummaged through a bag and pulled out a blanket, usually he'd have the blanket, but she needed it more than he did. "Here, you might need this." He said as he passed the blanket over to her.

"Uh, thank you." She sounded nervous whenever she spoke, did she still not trust them?

The little night fury had just finished eating the fish she was given, now she leapt on top of Ileana, pinning her to the ground and lapping her face with a wet, sloppy tongue.

"H-hey, cut it out, you're messing up my hair!" She tried to push away the young dragon whilst giggling the whole way through. Ileana rolled over, turning the tables on her dragon friend, subduing her with a belly rub.

"Did you give him a name?" Hiccup asked.

"Huh?"

"Did you give him a name?"

"No, I was so focused on keeping it all a secret that I never really took the time to make friends."

"Well you can name him now."

"Oh, well what's a good name for a night fury?" While she pondered the thought, her dragon friend righted itself and looked up at her.

 _*Why are they trying to name me? I already have a name?*_

 _*Well What is your name?*_

 _*Starfire. But how do we tell that to them, they can't understand us. "_

 _*leave that to me.*_

"Ok so how about something beginning with night, night... something. " Toothless growled loudly.

"Well if you don't like it Toothless, what's your idea for a name?" Toothless gently nudged the younger night fury forward. Hiccup seemed to get the message.

"You want her to decide her own name, ok that seems fair. "

"But how will she tell us, it's not like she speaks norse."

Starfire started barking at the night sky.

"What's she trying to say?" Ileana would be confused, she hadn't spent as much time around dragons as he had. Hiccup tried to analyse what the dragon was trying to tell them. Her name obviously but what about it, she was barking at the sky so...

"Sky!"

"What?" Ileana asked confused again.

"Sky. It's her name, right?" Hiccup looked to Starfire who shook her head.

"No? Hmm, what else."

"Night, you know, night sky and everything." Again Starfire shook her head.

"How about star?" Khaine commented from the edge of the fire light. Starfire Sat up on her hind legs, chirping and nodding her triangular head.

"That's it! Star. So your name is Star?" Starfire shook her head again but this time she turned to shoot a tiny fireball into the campfire.

"Ok so it's Star- what, Star something, Star-"

"Fire! Starfire!" Ileana finished. Her dragon barked and leapt over to her with its tongue dangling loosely from her mouth. Then the licking started

"Ok, ok I get it girl, your happy, now quit it, you'll get my hair all sticky."

Everyone laughed as the pair rolled around on the ground playing, Toothless joined in at one point, playing tag with Starfire and the two chased each other around the campfire.

They were having so much fun that Hiccup almost forgot he was cooking the crab.

"Hey, the crabs ready." He pulled the stick from the fire and used a knife to slide the crab off. Hiccup cut the crab down the middle and handed her one half. Ileana didn't look keen on eating it, but it was all they had, so she picked it from him with two fingers holding it by the claw. She never liked seafood, but she was so hungry she could have a whole yak to herself.

"Is there anything on this I shouldn't eat, like the shell or..." She trailed off, waiting for him to finish a mouthful.

"Well the bones of you can help it, but everything else is fine, the shell, the mandibles, the eyes-"

" Please don't, it's gonna be hard enough to keep it down as it is. " Hiccup gave a half hearted chuckle.

"Sorry, didn't know you weren't a fan of crab." She looked back at the half of a crab she was holding and cringed.

"You don't know the half of it." The next twenty minutes passed by very slowly for Ileana, Hiccup stripped his half of the crab clean in couple of minutes, but she had trouble keeping it down at some points, the shell was crunchy and sometimes flaky in some areas, the meat under the shell was tough and dry, which she didn't mind, but the meat in other places was soft and slushy. Hiccup could see her struggling with her food and offered numerous times to get her something else, but she refused and insisted that she could handle it.

Now everyone was sound asleep. Ileana was under her blanket with Starfire curled up next to her. Hiccup, without his blanket, had to sleep under Toothless' wing, not the most comfortable place to sleep, but at least it was warm.

Much later in the night, Starfire woke to a strange noise, it sounded close.

She lifted her head to see what it was. Her ear plates twitched as she tracked the sound to its point of origin.

It was coming from Ileana. Starfire nudged her back to wake her up. Nothing. She nudged her again, she shuffled a bit but still she didn't wake. Starfire walked around to her front side, that's when she knew something was wrong.

Ileana's fists were balled up, her eyes were shut right and her brow furowed, sweat was pouring down her face and she kept making small groaning sounds. Starfire didn't know what was wrong, but she knew she needed to get help. She bounded over to Toothless and jumped up and down on his back.

 _*Toothless! Toothless! Wake up!*_

 _*Wha- what's going!*_ Toothless woke up startled and confused.

* _Starfire, can't this wait 'til morning?*_

 _*Something's wrong with Ileana!*_ The commotion had gotten everyone's attention by now, Hiccup was waking up mumbling to himself and Khaine had been on watch who was now rushing over to see what was wrong.

hiccup finally got his bearings and made his way over where everyone was gathered.

"What happened, what's going on!"

"Something's wrong with Ileana, but we don't know what." Khaine answered. Hiccup rushed over to her, she was sweating and she looked like she was in pain. Next to her was Toothless who was trying to calm down Starfire who looked to be on the verge of tears. He had to act now, Hiccup grabbed her shoulders and shook her frantically, trying to wake her up.

"ILEANA! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

Ileana awoke in blind panic, screaming and struggling to get away from whatever had terrified her. Hiccup had to press her arms to her sides to stop her from potentially hurting herself.

"ILEANA! CALM DOWN! IT'S ME!" None of this was working, she wouldn't listen. She didn't understand that she was safe and no one was trying to hurt her, if Hiccup could get her attention, then she would calm down. Hopefully. Hiccup turned her head towards him and kept it fixed in that position.

"ILEANA! IT'S OK! IT'S ME, IT'S HICCUP!" Finally she stopped to look him in the eye. Her pupils were tiny in the green spheres of her eyes, the skin around her eyes was red and puffy from all the crying, she was shaking and her breathing was erratic. She was well and truly scared.

"Hi-hiccup?" She whisperedwhispered, almost as if she was questioning whether it was him or not.

"Its ok, your safe, it was just a dream." Hiccup had to reassure her, judging by her reaction whatever sort of nightmare she had just have been an intense experience. After a few moments of staring at each other, Ileana looked around to see Khaine, Toothless and Starfire all staring at her with worry.

"Ileana, are you ok?" Hiccup didn't get a response, well not a vocal one at least. Ileana wrapped her arms around him and started bawling into his chest. Starfire climbed on to Ileana's lap, crooning to help calm her down. Hiccup was unsure what to do at first, he hadn't dealt with anything like this before, he didn't want to make her feel alone by not do anything but at the same time he was afraid that if he did do something he would set her off.

After a couple of awkward moments Hiccup put his arms around her, she had been through something traumatic tonight and she was going to need a lot of help if she was going to recover.

A long while later she had calmed down a bit.

"Feel better now?"

"S-sort of." There was a long silence between the two until Hiccup spoke again.

"Was it about..."

"Yeah." Ileana finished.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." Another long pause hung heavy in the world around them.

"Will you be ok if we all go back to sleep?"

" Actually could you stay with me a little longer, just until I fall asleep? "

"Of course Ileana." Toothless curled himself around the two and Starfire cuddled up on Ileana's lap. Khaine watched over them from a couple meters away, being vigilant of their surroundings in case any viking search parties passed through.

"Heh, those two are in love with each other and they don't even know it." Khaine muttered to himself.

As the minutes went by and the moon descended from its apex, Ileana fell into a peaceful slumber, Hiccup, Toothless and Starfire followed suit soon after. Ileana would need Hiccup and the dragons in the events to come. Although Hiccup would need them just as much, he may have been chosen for great things, but he couldn't accomplish them alone, he would need friends, allies.

Hiccup had faced hardships that have shaped him into the man he is today, and he will face many more. But on this night Hiccup found something to fight for, not just for the world he knew, but something more personal.

Hiccup, even though he may not know it yet, has found love, here in the worst of places and on the darkest of nights.

 **Thank you all for watching and leave a review of you have an idea and I might put it into the story.**


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